flamingo

American  

[fluh-ming-goh] / fləˈmɪŋ goʊ /

noun

• flamingos,
  plural
• flamingoes
  plural

1. any of several aquatic birds of the family Phoenicopteridae, having very long legs and neck, webbed feet, a bill bent downward at the tip, and pinkish to scarlet plumage.

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flamingo British  

/ fləˈmɪŋɡəʊ /

noun

1. any large wading bird of the family Phoenicopteridae , having a pink-and-red plumage and downward-bent bill and inhabiting brackish lakes: order Ciconiiformes

2. 1. a reddish-orange colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      flamingo gloves

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• flamingoes
  plural
• flamingos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of flamingo

1555–65; compare Portuguese flamengo, Spanish flamenco literally, Fleming ( cf. flamenco); apparently originally a jocular name, from the conventional Romance image of the Flemish as ruddy-complexioned

Explanation

A flamingo is a large, long-necked pink bird that often stands on one leg. Florida is one of the few places in the U.S. to see flamingos, aside from zoos. Though very few real flamingos are native to North America, you can spot the pink plastic lawn ornament version in front yards from California to Maine. These distinctive birds get their coloring from their food, and when flamingos in zoos aren't fed shrimp, their feathers fade to a white shade, rather than salmon pink. Flamingo is derived from the Spanish flamengo, "flame-colored."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

flamingo flamingoes flamingos

The golden ticket came gift-wrapped in flamingo pink.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

A decorative flamingo and American flag are viewed at Flamingo Garden Mobile Home Park on July 9.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

A flamingo windchime and a decorative piece of art from Guadalajara, Mexico hang in front of the entrance of the home of Flamingo Garden Mobile Home Park resident Mariano Silverio Mendoza in Carson.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

Rep. Monique Miller, a Republican representing the Space Coast district, took issue with the scrub jay, not the flamingo.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

The third bullet was for the filthy flamingo, who stopped dead center in the road when the lethal bee buzzed past his ear.

From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut

A single atoll in the Seychelles serves as home to hundreds of thousands of tortoises, while millions of flamingoes flock annually to Lake Natron in Tanzania.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

He is believed to have fathered descendants, but detailed records were not kept on young flamingoes, German news agency dpa reported.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 8, 2024

The natural world has long been painted with every permutation of pink—whether embedded deep in ancient rock, sported by shrimp-hungry flamingoes, or simply lining the shores of Bermuda’s pink-sand beaches.

From National Geographic ● Jul. 21, 2023

At every turn, the resort has tried to reinvent itself, morphing in the late 1980s into a family-friendly destination, complete with a water park, flamingoes and talking parrots — rebranded “The Island of Las Vegas.”

From New York Times ● Jun. 19, 2023

Then he arrived at the end of the row, where Pinky and Pinky Too sat, pink as a pair of flamingoes.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

“If someone lost 142 flamingos, they would notice,” said Jerry Lorenz, a retired research director at Audubon Florida.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

The Kushner-backed resort, along with another development on nearby Sazan Island, are both planned near a key breeding site for migratory birds -- including hundreds of flamingos.

From Barron's ● Jun. 20, 2026

Protesters gathered on a sandy beach facing azure waters, some waving red Albanian flags, others carrying inflatable flamingos -- the movement’s symbol -- while chanting "cancel the project!"

From Barron's ● Jun. 6, 2026

"Where they plan to expand the port is a particularly bio-sensitive hotspot," Namcob's Neil Shaw says from his windswept office near a lagoon where flamingos feed.

From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2026

Two giggling flamingos, one fair-skinned, the other light olive, test the water with one toe each.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides