cockatoo

[ kok-uh-too, kok-uh-too ]

/ ˈkɒk əˌtu, ˌkɒk əˈtu /

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noun, plural cock·a·toos.

any of numerous large, noisy, crested parrots of the genera Cacatua, Callocephalon, Calyptorhynchus, etc., of the Australasian region, having chiefly white plumage tinged with yellow, pink, or red: popular as a pet.

Australian.

a person who owns and works a small farm or ranch.
Slang. a lookout posted by criminals or the operators of illegal gambling games.

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Origin of cockatoo

1610–20; <Dutch kaketoe<Malay kakatua, perhaps etymologizing alteration of Central Moluccan jaka any psittacine bird, by association with Malay kakak sibling, kakak tua older sibling); spelling copies cock¹

Words nearby cockatoo

cockamamie, cock-and-bull story, cockapoo, cock a snook, cockatiel, cockatoo, cockatrice, Cockayne, Cockayne's syndrome, cockboat, cockchafer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use cockatoo in a sentence

Wickham says this is “fabulous news for this large, quiet and beautiful cockatoo,” which just 20 years before had numbered only 110 individuals.
Post-fire Australia will provide travelers with more opportunities for ‘restorative tourism’|Elizabeth Heath|March 18, 2021|Washington Post
The doves were cooing and fluttering in the cornices and the cockatoo was preening his lemon colored topknot.
The Adventures of Kathlyn|Harold MacGrath
And we had pets; I remember I once caught a live cockatoo, and trained him to help me in my hunting expeditions.
The Adventures of Louis de Rougemont|Louis de Rougemont
Sentinel Cockatoo, however, was caught napping, and the garrison of the bower had to run for it.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol 58, No. 357, July 1845|Various

This is about the size of the great white cockatoo; the length twenty-two inches.
The Voyage Of Governor Phillip To Botany Bay|Arthur Phillip
I wish she had not thrust herself in,” said Bessie, “to prevent me from getting on with the child over the cockatoo.
Modern Broods|Charlotte Mary Yonge

British Dictionary definitions for cockatoo

cockatoo

/ (ˌkɒkəˈtuː, ˈkɒkəˌtuː) /

noun plural -toos

any of various parrots of the genus Kakatoe and related genera, such as K. galerita (sulphur-crested cockatoo), of Australia and New Guinea. They have an erectile crest and most of them are light-coloured

Australian and NZ a small farmer or settler

Australian informal a lookout during some illegal activity

Word Origin for cockatoo

C17: from Dutch kaketoe, from Malay kakatua

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