cage bird
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of cage bird
First recorded in 1620–30
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.
My father has presented me with a beautiful house here—or so I believe, for I have not yet seen it, being a cage bird but for nocturnal sorties in the garden.
From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 24 (of 25) by Stevenson, Robert Louis
Be no cage bird who will not fly out into the sunlight when the door is opened freely.
From A Friend of Caesar A Tale of the Fall of the Roman Republic. Time, 50-47 B.C. by Davis, William Stearns
The cage bird whispers, "Come hither, let us both live in the cage."
From My Reminiscences by Hesh, Sasi Kumar
"Alas," cries the cage bird, "I should not know where to sit perched in the sky."
From My Reminiscences by Hesh, Sasi Kumar
Beloved in its home by both Americans and Germans, it is protected and caught only for the cage bird fancy.
From Ohio Arbor Day 1913: Arbor and Bird Day Manual Issued for the Benefit of the Schools of our State by Clifton, Grace R.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.