grebe

[ greeb ]

/ grib /

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noun

any diving bird of the family Podicipedidae, related to the loons, but having a rudimentary tail and lobate rather than webbed toes.

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Compare great crested grebe, pied-billed grebe.

Origin of grebe

First recorded in 1760–70, grebe is from the French word grèbe< ?

Words nearby grebe

Great Yarmouth, great year, Great Zimbabwe, greave, greaves, grebe, Grecian, Grecian bend, Grecian profile, Grecism, Grecize

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use grebe in a sentence

The little grebe or dabchick (Podiceps albipennis) is another species that lays in July or August.
A Bird Calendar for Northern India|Douglas Dewar
This is next to the Western Grebe in size, both being larger than any of the others.
Western Bird Guide|Chester A. (Chester Albert) Reed, Harry F. Harvey, and Rex I. Brasher
They build a typical Grebe's nest, a floating mass of decayed matter which stains the naturally white eggs to a dirty brown.
The Bird Book|Chester A. Reed
"I have no time for gossiping," mumbled Gaffer Grebe, with his mouth full of building material.
Robin's Rambles|May Byron

I doubt if the wild duck, teal, little grebe, and moorhen succeed in rearing many young in this most dangerous water.
Birds in London|W. H. Hudson

British Dictionary definitions for grebe

grebe

/ (ɡriːb) /

noun

any aquatic bird, such as Podiceps cristatus (great crested grebe), of the order Podicipediformes, similar to the divers but with lobate rather than webbed toes and a vestigial tail

Word Origin for grebe

C18: from French grèbe, of unknown origin

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