great auk

American  

noun

1. a large, flightless auk, Pinguinus impennis, of rocky islands off North Atlantic coasts: extinct since 1844.

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great auk British  

noun

1. a large flightless auk, Pinguinus impennis, extinct since the middle of the 19th century

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Etymology

Origin of great auk

First recorded in 1820–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

great auk

The Hall of Extinction and Hope analogizes manmade climate change and habitat destruction to a slow-moving asteroid that has already obliterated species such as the passenger pigeon, dodo and great auk.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 2, 2025

Many sights described in his vivid prose can no longer be seen, like the great auk, which the naturalist mistakenly called a penguin.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 22, 2022

The last confirmed sighting off a great auk took place on an island off Iceland, in 1844, but it’s likely that stray birds lived on for years, even decades.

From The New Yorker ● Aug. 30, 2014

They could only have belonged to the great auk, everyone assumed, and soon journalists were taking plaster castings and birders were camping on the beach.

From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2013

I named it Auk I, after the great auk, an extinct bird that couldn’t fly.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam