definitions
  • synonyms

birdie

[ bur-dee ]
/ ˈbɜr di /
|

noun

a small bird.
Golf. a score of one stroke under par on a hole.
a shuttlecock.

verb (used with object), bird·ied, bird·ie·ing.

Golf. to make a birdie on (a hole).

Nearby words

birdbrain, birdcage, birdcage clock, birder, birdhouse, birdie, birding, birdlike, birdlime, birdman, birds

Origin of birdie

First recorded in 1785–95; bird + -ie
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for birdie

British Dictionary definitions for birdie

birdie

/ (ˈbɜːdɪ) /

noun

golf a score of one stroke under par for a hole
informal a bird, esp a small bird

verb

(tr) golf to play (a hole) in one stroke under par
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for birdie

birdie

n.

"little bird," 1792, from bird (n.1) + -ie. As golf slang for "a hole played one under par," by 1908, perhaps from bird (n.) in American English slang sense of "exceptionally clever or accomplished person or thing" (1839).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper