birdie

American  

[bur-dee] / ˈbɜr di /

noun

1. a small bird.

2. Golf. a score of one stroke under par on a hole.

3. a shuttlecock.

---

verb (used with object)

birdied, birdieing

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

birdie British  

/ ˈbɜːdɪ /

noun

1. golf a score of one stroke under par for a hole

2. informal a bird, esp a small bird

---

verb

1. (tr) golf to play (a hole) in one stroke under par

Etymology

Origin of birdie

First recorded in 1785–95; bird + -ie

Example Sentences

But things turned from the 15th as the Spaniard found a bunker off the tee to start a run of three consecutive bogeys and Fitzpatrick's birdie gave him the lead.

From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026

Back-to-back bogeys at the third and fourth did not help the Englishman's cause but Chacarra's tee-shot found the water at the eighth, leading to a bogey and a two-shot swing as Fitzpatrick made his birdie.

From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026

McIlroy got up-and-down birdie from a bunker at 17 before he rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt from the fringe at the last.

From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026

McIlroy hit his 30-foot birdie putt just hard enough to fall at the famed 18th green to move into a second-place tie with Kitayama.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 22, 2026

The story about Bill and the birdie became one of his favorites.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey