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• heron
  heron

  noun

  any of numerous long-legged, long-necked, usually long-billed birds of the family Ardeidae, including the true herons, egrets, night herons, and bitterns.
• Heron
  Heron

  noun

  Hero.

heron

¹ American  

[her-uhn] / ˈhɛr ən /

noun

• herons
  plural

1. any of numerous long-legged, long-necked, usually long-billed birds of the family Ardeidae, including the true herons, egrets, night herons, and bitterns.

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Heron ² American  

[heer-on] / ˈhɪər ɒn /

noun

1. Hero.

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Heron ¹ British  

/ ˈhɪərɒn /

noun

1. same as Hero

2. Patrick. 1920–99, British abstract painter and art critic

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heron ² British  

/ ˈhɛrən /

noun

1. any of various wading birds of the genera Butorides, Ardea, etc, having a long neck, slim body, and a plumage that is commonly grey or white: family Ardeidae, order Ciconiiformes

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• herons
  plural

Etymology

Origin of heron

1275–1325; Middle English heiro ( u ) n, hero ( u ) n < Middle French hairon ( French héron ) < Germanic; compare Old High German heigir

Explanation

Herons are birds that use their long legs to wade in marshes, ponds, and along the coastline. There are herons living on every single continent except Antarctica. There are dozens of heron species, ranging from medium-sized to the impressive goliath heron, which stands five feet tall. All of these shorebirds have long legs, long necks, and a wide wingspan. When a heron stands upright, it holds its neck in a distinctive S-shape, but when it flies, it tucks its head tightly up against its body. Heron is from the Old French hairon, which may derive from an imitative root mimicking the cry of a heron.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

heron Heron herons

Sightings of blue heron, egrets and river otters are common.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

The black-crowned night heron is widespread across Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe but has now been spotted at National Trust's Holnicote Estate, near Minehead.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

"Look at the length of the skull, the length of the neck, and the length of the hind limb -- you're in heron territory."

From Barron's ● Feb. 27, 2026

Just then a great blue heron flew overhead.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026

In them are eight blue heron nests—a rookery.

From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

The new branch of Downing Street is currently operating from Heron House in Manchester city centre, whilst a brownfield site is redeveloped.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

This time, she’s named Faye Heron, an Emmy-winning Hollywood multi-hyph who found cachet while working on one of those edgy premium dramedies that probably aired on HBO.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

Several other firms have introduced their own private-credit indexes during the past few months, including Nasdaq, wealth adviser Heron Finance, and research provider Morningstar.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026

"Around half of reef locations affected by bleaching-level heat stress were exposed twice or more during the three-year event -- often with devastating consequences," said Scott Heron, professor of physics at James Cook University.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 12, 2026

That was that and Mr. Heron knew it.

From "My Brother Sam is Dead" by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

"The cervical vertebrae of Kank show special structures for muscle attachment and the protection of neck blood vessels, features particularly important in modern birds with complex neck movements, such as herons," says Dr. Motta.

From Science Daily ● May 29, 2026

In Vietnam, herons cast twigs in ponds like fly-fishermen to lure prey.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

More than a hundred bird species, including ducks, geese, terns, ibis, herons, eagles and vultures, had been recorded in the area, alongside monkeys and small mammals.

From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026

This mosquito tends to live in hardwood bogs and feeds on birds like robins, herons, and wrens, spreading the virus among them.

From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2024

Now let’s go back to the herons and see how O’Connor refers to them.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker