grosbeak

[ grohs-beek ]

/ ˈgroʊsˌbik /

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noun

any of various finches having a thick, conical bill.

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Origin of grosbeak

First recorded in 1670–80; partial translation of French grosbec “large bill”; see origin at gross, beak

Words nearby grosbeak

groping, Gropius, Gropius, Walter, Gropper, Gros, grosbeak, groschen, gros de Londres, gros de Tours, grosgrain, gros point

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

How to use grosbeak in a sentence

Finally, Mr. Pine Grosbeak plucked up courage to approach nearer.
Bumper, The White Rabbit|George Ethelbert Walsh
The “social grosbeak” fabricates a republic of nests in one clump, and all under one roof.
Popular Adventure Tales|Mayne Reid
Then a catbird and a brown thrush sang against a grosbeak and a hermit thrush.
A Girl Of The Limberlost|Gene Stratton Porter
The grosbeak sang on, a big Turnus butterfly sailed through the arbour and poised over the table.
A Girl Of The Limberlost|Gene Stratton Porter

She talked to the grosbeak in exactly the same manner, as she laid strawberries and potato bugs on the fence for his family.
A Girl Of The Limberlost|Gene Stratton Porter

British Dictionary definitions for grosbeak

grosbeak

/ (ˈɡrəʊsˌbiːk, ˈɡrɒs-) /

noun

any of various finches, such as Pinicola enucleator (pine grosbeak), that have a massive powerful bill

cardinal grosbeak any of various mostly tropical American buntings, such as the cardinal and pyrrhuloxia, the males of which have brightly coloured plumage

Word Origin for grosbeak

C17: from French grosbec, from Old French gros large, thick + bec beak 1

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