budgerigar

American

[buhj-uh-ree-gahr, -er-i-] / ˈbʌdʒ ə riˌgɑr, -ər ɪ- /

Also budgereegah,

an Australian parakeet, Melopsittacus undulatus, having greenish plumage with black and yellow markings, bred as a pet in a variety of colors.

budgerigar British

/ ˈbʌdʒərɪˌɡɑː /

noun

Often (informal) shortened to: budgie. a small green Australian parrot, Melopsittacus undulatus : a popular cagebird that is bred in many different coloured varieties

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of budgerigar

First recorded in 1840–50; perhaps misrepresentation of Kamilaroi or Yuwaalaraay (an Australian Aboriginal language of northern New South Wales) gijirrigā (perhaps gijirr “yellow” or “small” + gā “head”)

Vocabulary lists containing budgerigar

2015 Spelling Bee - Words from Round 3

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

budgerigar

And this book about “million-dollar babies” has a lot of million-dollar words: etiolated, accidie, budgerigar.

From New York Times ● Feb. 15, 2022

He perches on a kitchen chair like a budgerigar in its cage.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 5, 2010

They are, of course, of the parrot family, but their correct name is shell parakeet or budgerigar .

From Time Magazine Archive

A caged budgerigar chirps beneath Rembrandt's The Cradle.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023