feathers
Britishplural noun
-
the plumage of a bird
-
Also called: feathering. the long hair on the legs or tail of certain breeds of horses and dogs
-
informal dress; attire
her best feathers
-
to cause upset or offence
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.
Award show producers seemed to scramble for hosts that didn’t already have a record of ruffling feathers and could, at the bare minimum, garner a few chuckles from the crowd.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
Across the bank holiday weekend, more than two million people were expected to join in the celebrations, featuring thousands of parade performers in sequins, feathers and bejewelled headpieces.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
In the ancient world, plagiarism was viewed quite negatively: The word “plagiarism” actually means “kidnapper” in Latin, and the Roman poet Horace described literary theft like a crow making itself beautiful with stolen feathers.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
In the end she gave her favorite rodents some feathers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Penguins are birds with wings and feathers, but they don’t fly.
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
![]()
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.