emu
noun
a large, flightless, ratite bird, Emu (Dromaius ) novaehollandiae, of Australia, resembling the ostrich but smaller and having a feathered head and neck and rudimentary wings.
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emu
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EMU
EMUAlso electromagnetic unit.
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e.m.u.
e.m.u.abbreviationelectromagnetic unit
emu
1 American
[ee-myoo]
/ ˈi mju /
noun
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emus
plural
EMU
2
American
EMU
1
British
abbreviation
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European Monetary Union
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Economic and Monetary Union
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See e.m.u.
emu
2
British
/ ˈiːmjuː /
noun
e.m.u.
3
British
abbreviation
EMU
Scientific
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of emu
1605–15; earlier emeu (in earliest E source emia, eme ), ultimately < Portuguese ema, attested in 1541 as a name for the cassowary (further origin obscure); the replacement of -a by -eu, etc., is unexplained
Explanation
An emu is a very large, flightless bird that is only slightly shorter than its close relative, the ostrich. You're likely to see emus if you travel around their native continent of Australia. Emus reign as the biggest bird in Australia, growing to a height of six feet or more as adults. These long-legged birds have soft brown feathers and relatively small wings that they flap as they run (sometimes sprinting at 30 miles per hour), though sadly, they're unable to take flight. Etymologists guess that emu comes from the Portuguese word for "ostrich," ema.
Vocabulary lists containing emu
Birds, Birds, Birds, List 2
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Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
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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:
I enjoy eating emu and ostrich, which taste surprisingly like beef.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
You might have seen him in theater productions, on TV shows or in movies, and you couldn’t possibly not have seen him as the emu farmer in a Liberty Mutual commercial.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2026
Colossal Biosciences would again edit the genes of a close living relative, such as the emu or tinamou, and call it a moa.
From Slate ● Aug. 8, 2025
Every morning, she wondered: “Is today going to be the day that I wake up and kill an emu in my backyard?”
From New York Times ● Jun. 19, 2024
He wondered if he would have better luck sleeping in the emu pen.
From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli
But the low point actually arrived the following spring, when an episode of HBO’s “Real Sports” analyzed whether EMU should consider dropping football.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 18, 2023
The game began with consecutive touchdowns with Williams, who transferred from EMU before the 2021 season, reaching the 1 on a 59-yard pass play to set up Buffalo’s first score.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 24, 2022
A personal foul on the first play gave ASU its initial first down of the game at the EMU 7 as time ran down in the first quarter.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 17, 2022
Full-time EMU faculty earned $101,300 on average in salary and health care benefits between 2021 and 2022, according to documents released by the administration Monday.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 7, 2022
Exports should lead an upturn in Swiss economic performance in 1998-99, provided the franc does not appreciate substantially as a result of Swiss monetary policy or instability in the run up to EMU.
From The 1998 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency
The remains came from both native and introduced animals, including cows, kangaroos, emus, sheep, pigs, dingoes, rabbits, possums, quolls and swamp rats.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
In addition to turkeys, residents include cows, horses, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, llamas and emus.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 27, 2025
The emus, which belong to Lucia Muralyi, in Purleigh, near Maldon, saw their chance for adventure and took it.
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2023
The scientists also noted the shocking range of cat diets, characterizing them as "extreme generalist predators" who will feed off of animals as large as American bullfrogs, emus, green sea turtles and domestic cows.
From Salon ● Dec. 12, 2023
Well, except for the emus and the ostriches, but they seemed more like bears anyway, if you asked Zeke.
From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness
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