cockatoo

American  

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

noun

plural

cockatoos

1. 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.

2. 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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cockatoo British  

/ ˌkɒkəˈtuː, ˈkɒkəˌtuː /

noun

1. 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

2. a small farmer or settler

3. informal a lookout during some illegal activity

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Etymology

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 cock ¹

Compare meaning

How does cockatoo compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• cockatoo vs. cockatiel

Example Sentences

But my wife and I have had a cockatoo for 40 years.

From The Wall Street Journal

Obviously, Ellie is unique, but at the same time, is there something about the Goffin’s cockatoo that makes her maybe more susceptible to being able to pick up communication and things like that?

From Salon

Snowball, a sulphur-crested cockatoo, became a YouTube sensation nearly a decade ago for dancing to the Backstreet Boys’ “Everybody.”

From Salon

The restaurant has a small ranch where customers can observe a variety of exotic animals, such as Amazon cockatoos, fainting goats and the koi fish, said Silvia Duarte, who owns the business with her husband.

From Los Angeles Times

The shipment of animals from Moscow also included two yaks, five cockatoos and dozens of pheasants as well as mandarin ducks, Kozlov's office said.

From BBC