covey

American  

[kuhv-ee] / ˈkʌv i /

noun

coveys plural

1. a brood or small flock of partridges or similar birds.

2. a group, set, or company.

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covey British  

/ ˈkʌvɪ /

noun

1. a small flock of grouse or partridge

2. a small group, as of people

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Etymology

Origin of covey

First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English, variant of covee, from Anglo-French, Old French, noun use of feminine of past participle of cover “to hatch,” from Latin cubāre “to lie down”; cf. couvade, concubine

Explanation

A covey is a social group of birds. You can also use it for a group of people, like the covey of kids that hangs out on the playground after school. The roots of covey go back to the Latin cubare, "incubate or hatch." The word was originally used for a brood of newly-hatched partridges or other similar birds. Today it can refer to one family group, like a mother pigeon and her chicks, or a flock that hangs out together. Feel free to describe other groups using this word, like the covey of tourists walking slowly down the sidewalk with their map as the locals dodge past them.

Example Sentences

Goodbye as well to a covey of quarterbacks, several of whom didn’t impress despite getting ample opportunities with most starters sitting out the entire preseason.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 26, 2025

Now, the family keeps a covey of cloth masks in a basket near the front door.

From Washington Post • May 30, 2020

Sarris began his Village Voice review with a dig: “A covey of high-flying, high-sounding critics have managed to save ‘Pretty Poison’ from a fate worse than death in the fleshpots of 42nd Street.”

From New York Times • Sep. 28, 2018

From businesses, governments and organisations, a scripted response will fail to resonate as it will not covey empathy and compassion.

From BBC • Jan. 18, 2018

She cut Hester Sinclair from the covey: “How’s Bill?”

From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee