gannet
Americannoun
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gannets
plural
noun
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any of several heavily built marine birds of the genus Morus (or Sula ), having a long stout bill and typically white plumage with dark markings: family Sulidae, order Pelecaniformes (pelicans, cormorants, etc) See also booby
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slang a gluttonous or greedy person
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of gannet
before 900; Middle English; Old English ganot; akin to Dutch gent gander
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.
See Examples For:
It led to a fourfold increase in adult gannet deaths, resulting in a 26% decrease in the size of Bass Rock's colony and a 38% fall at Grassholm.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
The gannet colony was devastated by bird flu in 2022/23 but researchers have since said populations are recovering.
From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026
The ban could also benefit two other endangered seabirds, the Cape gannet and Cape cormorant, that also rely on sardine and anchovy as their primary food source, Waller says.
From Science Magazine ● Aug. 17, 2023
Scuttle the boy seagull is now Scuttle the female gannet.
From Washington Times ● May 25, 2023
There was no sound but the ice-cold surge, the cry of a gannet, invisible in grayness above me.
From "Grendel" by John Gardner
A new visitor attraction will also be built at the seabird centre, using live 360 degree cameras so people can virtually experience the puffins and gannets close-up.
From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026
Most people get upset and angry at the sight of gannets sitting on nests of nylon ropes, and whales drifting ashore with their stomachs full of plastic.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 13, 2024
The paper documented the population collapses in seabird communities around the world, from kittiwakes in the North Sea to murres in the Gulf of Alaska to gannets and penguins off the coast of Namibia.
From Slate ● Feb. 4, 2024
James Parkin, director of nature and tourism for the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, said local rangers have so far collected around 700 to 800 birds - mostly guillemots but also razorbills and gannets.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2023
A pair of gannets flew high over us, going toward the sea.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
