golden eagle

American

noun

a large eagle, Aquila chrysaëtos, of the Northern Hemisphere, having golden-brown feathers on the back of the head and neck.

golden eagle British

noun

a large eagle, Aquila chrysaetos, of mountainous regions of the N hemisphere, having a plumage that is golden brown on the back and brown elsewhere

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

golden eagles

plural

Etymology

Origin of golden eagle

First recorded in 1780–90

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:

golden eagle

The wingspan of an adult bald eagle ranges from 5.5 to 8 feet across; it’s roughly the same for a golden eagle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 26, 2025

It is not yet clear whether a golden eagle population in areas like the Lake District, or the Northumberland Uplands will establish itself without birds being brought from Scotland.

From BBC ● May 28, 2025

In life it would have been about 2 m in wingspan, similar to that of large birds like the golden eagle.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 18, 2024

Inside was a golden eagle who on Oct.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 5, 2024

At his side, the legion’s eagle bearer, Jacob, stood at attention, sweating in his lion-skin cloak as he held the staff with the golden eagle standard of the Twelfth.

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan

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