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

And the blackbird remains one of the commonest garden birds with numbers holding steady in many parts of the country, especially in rural areas, and in the north.

From BBC ● May 14, 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

“We used to do clam digging and seal hunting and some blackbird hunting there,” says Kelly Rosales, historic preservation officer for the Hoh Tribe.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 28, 2023

Me: “‘I do not know which to prefer, / The beauty of inflections / Or the beauty of innuendos, / The blackbird whistling / Or just after.’”

From "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green

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

Then, after the summer heatwave of that year, Usutu was detected in several blackbirds in Greater London.

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

The blade of blackbirds rising out of nowhere, brandishing and then gone?

From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison