cuckoo clock

American  

noun

1. a wall or shelf clock, often carved and decorated, that announces the hours by a sound like the call of the cuckoo, usually accompanied by the appearance of an imitation bird through a little door.

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cuckoo clock British  

noun

1. a clock in which a mechanical cuckoo pops out with a sound like a cuckoo's call when the clock strikes

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Etymology

Origin of cuckoo clock

First recorded in 1775–85

Example Sentences

"Switzerland has nurtured many unexpected good things -- Albert Einstein's physics, the world economy, and the cuckoo clock leap to mind -- and is again helping the world appreciate improbable people and ideas."

From Barron's • Mar. 10, 2026

A hand-carved cuckoo clock adds a bit of humor.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2025

After all, it’s not every day you find Jessica Chastain rotating on a turntable like an angry bird in a giant cuckoo clock.

From New York Times • Mar. 9, 2023

Ruthanne Deutsch, who gave her first Supreme Court argument from her home in Virginia, said that in preparation, her husband silenced everything in the house that could make noise, including a cuckoo clock.

From Washington Times • Mar. 16, 2021

A cuckoo clock was stopped on the wrong time, the bird out of his little brown house.

From "Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel" by Harlan Coben