Dictionary.com

cockatoo

[ kok-uh-too, kok-uh-too ]
/ ˈkɒk əˌtu, ˌkɒk əˈtu /

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.
  1. a person who owns and works a small farm or ranch.
  2. 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. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for cockatoo

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