cockatoo
Americannoun
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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.
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Australian.
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a person who owns and works a small farm or ranch.
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Slang. a lookout posted by criminals or the operators of illegal gambling games.
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noun
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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
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a small farmer or settler
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informal a lookout during some illegal activity
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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
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Explanation
A cockatoo is a noisy, sociable type of parrot that has a moveable crest on the top of its head. Because they're smart, funny,m and showy, cockatoos are often kept as pets. Cockatoos are usually black and white, less colorful than other parrots, and they're generally bigger and louder too. One exception is the cockatiel, a type of cockatoo that's about 12 inches tall and is a very popular pet. Cockatoos are native to Australia, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands, where they nest in trees and feed on seeds, insects, fruit, and flowers. Their name comes from the Malay kakatua, which may derive from the sound these noisy birds make.
Vocabulary lists containing cockatoo
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:
Why did Bayern Munich players wear cockatoo T-shirts?
From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2026
The Franco-Belgian couturier referenced the extravagant plumage of a roseate spoonbill or the crested cockatoo alongside the humble crow, grey pigeon and magpie.
From Barron's ● Jan. 27, 2026
But my wife and I have had a cockatoo for 40 years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025
But in 2007, Snowball the cockatoo went viral for dancing to the rhythm of the Backstreet Boys.
From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2025
The cockatoo noticed him before Darlene did, for its beads of eyes had been focusing on Ignatius’ hoop of a novelty earring ever since it had come onstage.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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 ● Nov. 20, 2024
The less popular pet species — your gerbils, iguanas, and cockatoos — should be grateful.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2024
But a few of the cockatoos are more discriminating, customizing their meals with one final flourish: Before eating the rock-hard rusk, they dunk it in a tub of water.
From New York Times ● Dec. 12, 2023
But you could walk around, and you could hold your hand out and they would come … there were macaws and cockatoos, they were just wonderful.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2023
Lourdes refilled the mosaic-lined fountain with sweet water and built an aviary in the garden, stocking it with toucans and cockatoos, parrots, a macaw, and canaries that sang in high octaves.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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.
