condor

[ kon-der, -dawr ]

/ ˈkɒn dər, -dɔr /

Save This Word!

noun

either of two large, New World vultures of the family Cathartidae, Gymnogyps californianus(California condor ) or Vultur gryphus(Andean condor ), the largest flying birds in the Western Hemisphere: the California condor is almost extinct; the Andean condor is greatly reduced in number and rare in many areas.

a former coin of Chile equal to 10 pesos.

a former coin of Ecuador equal to 10 sucres.

COMPARE MEANINGS

Click for a side-by-side comparison of meanings. Use the word comparison feature to learn the differences between similar and commonly confused words.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of condor

First recorded in 1595–1605; from South American Spanish, from Quechua kuntur

Words nearby condor

condom, condominium, Condon, condonation, condone, condor, Condorcet, condottiere, conduce, conducive, conduct

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use condor in a sentence

After a few bold condors returned from roosting on nearby trees to her roof on Wednesday morning, she gave them a “morning shower” with a hose, she said.
Only a few hundred California condors live in the wild, but about 20 teamed up to trash one woman’s deck|Teo Armus|May 7, 2021|Washington Post
On Monday, however, she arrived home to find that a massive flock of the condors had descended upon — and trashed — her own property.
Only a few hundred California condors live in the wild, but about 20 teamed up to trash one woman’s deck|Teo Armus|May 7, 2021|Washington Post
In the 1990s, so few adult condors had ever existed in the wild that juveniles struggled to learn how they should act in their native mountain terrain, Fry said.
Only a few hundred California condors live in the wild, but about 20 teamed up to trash one woman’s deck|Teo Armus|May 7, 2021|Washington Post
At Smithsonian’s National Zoo, you can see pandas, cheetah cubs and others, and the San Diego Zoo shows off koalas, condors, tigers, platypuses and more.
U.S. zoos and aquariums virtually open their facilities for behind-the-scenes visits with animals|Erin Blakemore|January 2, 2021|Washington Post

Since the incident, she has only posted a picture of a giant Condor mid-flight.
Gisele Bundchen Is Pregnant Again; Cory Booker Gets Mani-Pedis at Night|The Daily Beast|August 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The foam and the fangs and the flowers,The raving and ravenous rage Of a poet as pinion'd in powersAs a condor confined in a cage!
The Book of Humorous Verse|Various
A curious method of capturing the condor alive is practised in the province of Abancay.
Travels in Peru, on the Coast, in the Sierra, Across the Cordilleras and the Andes, into the Primeval Forests|J. J. von Tschudi
Some old travellers, Ulloa among others, have affirmed that the plumage of the condor is invulnerable to a musket-ball.
Travels in Peru, on the Coast, in the Sierra, Across the Cordilleras and the Andes, into the Primeval Forests|J. J. von Tschudi
I had a condor, which, when he first came into my possession, was very young.
Travels in Peru, on the Coast, in the Sierra, Across the Cordilleras and the Andes, into the Primeval Forests|J. J. von Tschudi
And they talked it all over, where they'd been and everything, all about the Condor and the savages and the Moon.
Kernel Cob And Little Miss Sweetclover|George Mitchel

British Dictionary definitions for condor

condor

/ (ˈkɒndɔː) /

noun

either of two very large rare New World vultures, Vultur gryphus (Andean condor), which has black plumage with white around the neck, and Gymnogyps californianus (California condor), which is similar but nearly extinct

Word Origin for condor

C17: from Spanish cóndor, from Quechuan kuntur

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