grebe

American

[greeb] / grib /

noun

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

grebe British

/ 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

"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 grebe

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

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:

grebe

In the 1980s the New Zealand population of the Australasian crested grebe was at a precipitously low number of roughly 200 birds.

From Salon ● Nov. 15, 2023

Oliver described pūteketeke, which number less than 1,000 in New Zealand and are also known as the Australasian crested grebe, as “weird, puking birds with colorful mullets.”

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 13, 2023

A diving waterbird called the eared grebe, for example, needs 28,000 adult brine shrimp each day to survive.

From Science Magazine ● Sep. 9, 2022

Back at the harbor, another small waterbird — an eared grebe — was released alongside the ruddy duck Wednesday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2021

At Clear Lake the western grebe is a breeding bird and also a winter visitant, attracted by the abundant fish of the lake.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

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