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flightless

American

[flahyt-lis] / ˈflaɪt lɪs /

adjective

incapable of flying.

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

flightless British

/ ˈflaɪtlɪs /

adjective

(of certain birds and insects) unable to fly See 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

Etymology

Origin of flightless

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

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.

How oviraptors, bird-like but flightless dinosaurs, hatched their eggs has long been unclear.

From Science Daily • Mar. 19, 2026

For a people nicknamed after a flightless bird, taking off overseas has somewhat ironically become a rite of passage for many New Zealanders.

From BBC • Mar. 2, 2026

Before humans, flightless birds like the kākāpō and kiwi thrived.

From Slate • Aug. 8, 2025

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

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 19, 2024

Koalas far too big to be cuddly and cute rustled in the trees and flightless birds twice the size of ostriches sprinted on the plains.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023