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

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

His “spark bird,” at 9, was the red-winged blackbird, which flocked to his homemade bird feeder in his suburban Long Island yard.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2024

I licked my thumb and wiped at that blackbird tattoo, leaving a smudgy black spot on my hand.

From "Wish" by Barbara O'Connor

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

Around now blackbirds are breeding and raising their young, frequently seen hopping along the ground and singing from the branches of trees on summer evenings.

From BBC ● May 14, 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

Postmortem tests of grackles, blackbirds, and other birds found dead on dairy farms detected H5N1, but that didn’t turn the tide.

From Salon ● May 23, 2024

Dead-looking grapevines and blackbirds and junk piles and bugs, that’s it.

From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones