flightless

[ flahyt-lis ]

/ ˈflaɪt lɪs /

adjective

incapable of flying: flightless birds such as the moa, rhea, and dodo.

Nearby words

flight simulator, flight strip, flight suit, flight surgeon, flight-test, flightless, flightworthy, flighty, flim, flim-flam, flimflam

Origin of flightless

First recorded in 1870–75; flight¹ + -less

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for flightless

Flightless rails have apparently developed in the absence of predation.
The Avifauna of Micronesia, Volume 3|Rollin H. Baker
The flightless great auk, which at one time was common along the north Atlantic coast, belongs to this family.
Birds and Nature Vol. 9 No. 4 [April 1901]|Various
It was probably a poor flier, though not flightless, as Fulica chathamensis was.
Extinct Birds|Walter Rothschild
Here we find the flightless Apteryx and a flightless goose now extinct, also the extinct Moa.
Birds and Nature Vol. 9 No. 2 [February 1901]|Various

There are flightless birds, but they all live in climates in which they can exist at all seasons.
The Migration of Birds|T. A. Coward

British Dictionary definitions for flightless

flightless

/ (ˈflaɪtlɪs) /

adjective

(of certain birds and insects) unable to flySee also ratite

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

Word Origin and History for flightless

flightless

adj.

1875, from flight (n.1) + -less.

flightless

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Nearby words

Origin of flightless

Examples from the Web for flightless

British Dictionary definitions for.css-ylq2vz{color:#1a1a1a;} flightless

flightless

adjective

Word Origin and History for flightless

flightless

adjective

British Dictionary definitions for flightless