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

New data shows Usutu has spread across much of southern England in five years, and has been linked to declines in some blackbird populations.

From BBC ● May 14, 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

Somewhere nearby a meadowlark and a redwing blackbird sang their bright, cheery songs.

From "In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse" by Joseph Marshall III

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

They are calling for volunteers to count blackbirds in their gardens over the summer months to find out more about the comings and goings of the birds.

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

There was one about four and twenty blackbirds, and another about a cow with a crumpled horn, and another about the death of poor Cock Robin.

From "1984" by George Orwell