blackbird

American  

[blak-burd] / ˈblækˌbɜrd /

noun

• blackbirds
  plural

1. a common European thrush, Turdus merula, the male of which is black with a yellow bill.

2. any of several American birds of the family Icteridae, having black plumage.

3. any of several other unrelated birds having black plumage in either or both sexes.

4. History/Historical. a person, especially a Pacific Islander, who was kidnapped and sold into slavery abroad, usually in Australia.

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verb (used with object)

1. to kidnap (a person), as in blackbirding.

verb (used without object)

1. to engage in blackbirding.

blackbird British  

/ ˈblækˌbɜːd /

noun

1. a common European thrush, Turdus merula , in which the male has a black plumage and yellow bill and the female is brown

2. any of various American orioles having a dark plumage, esp any of the genus Agelaius

3. history a person, esp a South Sea Islander, who was kidnapped and sold as a slave, esp in Australia

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verb

1. (tr) (formerly) to kidnap and sell into slavery

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• blackbirds
  plural

Etymology

Origin of blackbird

First recorded in 1480–90; earlier blacke bride; see black, bird

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

blackbird blackbirds

She has created large canvases, embellished formal gloves and a gown, and—most shockingly—a decorated taxidermied goat covered in a menagerie of stitched animals, including a mischievous red-winged blackbird and a cheery possum.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 3, 2025

Every morning, at this time of year, a red-winged blackbird greets me as I walk down the street.

From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2025

The threatened Swainson’s hawk will lose 10 acres of foraging habitat with the project, and the tricolored blackbird relies on nearby areas for food and its nesting materials.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2024

As a result, the final song features the melodic chirp of a male blackbird, originally recorded in the garden of sound engineer Stuart Eltham three years earlier.

From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2024

Once we caught a wounded blackbird by throwing a blanket over it and figured we could make a blackbird pie, like in the nursery rhyme.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

Market hunters used shotguns, nets and traps to fill traincars with passenger pigeons—as well as robins, woodpeckers, blackbirds and orioles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026

The virus has been linked to mass die-offs of blackbirds elsewhere in Europe, though that doesn't seem to be the case in Britain.

From BBC ● May 14, 2025

Of the more than 27,000 published papers analyzed for this study, red-winged blackbirds were the second-most researched species, with an astonishing 499 publications.

From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2025

The wetland attracts birds, such as coots and tricolored blackbirds, and also recharges the aquifer that the roots of cottonwoods and willows tap into.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2024

The results probably gratified the farmers, for the casualty list included some 65,000 red-winged blackbirds and starlings.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson