finch

[ finch ]

/ fɪntʃ /

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noun

any of numerous small passerine birds of the family Fringillidae, including the buntings, sparrows, crossbills, purple finches, and grosbeaks, most of which have a short, conical bill adapted for eating seeds.

any of various nonfringilline birds, especially the weaverbirds of the family Ploceidae and the tropical members of the subfamily Emberizinae.

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Origin of finch

before 900; Middle English; Old English finc; cognate with Dutch vink,German Fink; akin to Greek spíngos finch

Words nearby finch

financing, financing gap, finasteride, finback, finca, finch, Finchley, find, finder, finder's fee, finders, keepers

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use finch in a sentence

One of the only proven preferences that female zebra finches have is for male birds that sing in the same dialect as them, meaning they have songs similar to those in the female finch’s home habitat.
When female finches fail to find mates, they dump their eggs and move on|Margo Milanowski|November 4, 2021|Popular-Science
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology simulated scenarios where female finches did not have much choice in males to understand if being picky affected the number of offspring the female finches ended up having.
When female finches fail to find mates, they dump their eggs and move on|Margo Milanowski|November 4, 2021|Popular-Science
The female finches have previously shown their preference for male birds with their dialect.
When female finches fail to find mates, they dump their eggs and move on|Margo Milanowski|November 4, 2021|Popular-Science
Our research examined previously collected data to determine if temperature also influenced changes in beak size of these finches.
New Research Reveals Animals Are Changing Their Body Shapes to Cope With Climate Change|Matthew Symonds|September 10, 2021|Singularity Hub

A volunteer chorus of finches and wrens emerges to perform at sunset with the settled-in ease of a house band.
Wolf Trap celebrates 50 years of arts in the wild — so what’s another rainstorm?|Michael Andor Brodeur|July 2, 2021|Washington Post

British Dictionary definitions for finch

finch

/ (fɪntʃ) /

noun

any songbird of the family Fringillidae, having a short stout bill for feeding on seeds and, in most species, a bright plumage in the male. Common examples are the goldfinch, bullfinch, chaffinch, siskin, and canary

any of various similar or related birds

Other words from finch

Related adjective: fringilline

Word Origin for finch

Old English finc; related to Old High German finko, Middle Dutch vinker, Greek spingos

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