flightless

[flahyt-lis]

adjective

1. incapable of flying.

   flightless birds such as the moa, rhea, and dodo.

flightless

/ ˈflaɪtlɪs /

adjective

1. (of certain birds and insects) unable to fly See also ratite

Word History and Origins

Origin of flightless¹

First recorded in 1870–75; flight ¹ + -less

Example Sentences

New Zealand’s native animals, including flightless birds like the kiwi, evolved without ground-dwelling mammalian predators.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A great horned owl found itself in a seriously sticky situation after becoming stuck in a glue trap in Orange County, rendering it both flightless and food-less.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

As they squawked and brayed, a narrator said: “This year, they march in protest. They are peaceful. They are flightless. But they are certainly not voiceless.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Yet the malevolent flightless bird with a chip on his plumage isn’t the sole antagonist of “Vengeance Most Fowl.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In other findings, the study concluded more than 87% were endemic to islands; nearly two-thirds inhabited forests; 45% ate primarily insects and other invertebrates; and 20% were completely or partially flightless.

Read more on Science Daily