debeak

American

[dee-beek] / diˈbik /

verb (used with object)

Veterinary Medicine.

to remove the upper beak from (a bird) to prevent egg eating or attacks on other birds.

debeak British

verb

to remove part of the beak of poultry to reduce the risk of such habits as feather-picking or cannibalism

"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

Other Word Forms

debeaker noun

Etymology

Origin of debeak

First recorded in 1935–40; de- + beak

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023