hummingbird

[ huhm-ing-burd ]

/ ˈhʌm ɪŋˌbɜrd /

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noun

a very small nectar-sipping New World bird of the family Trochilidae, characterized by the brilliant, iridescent plumage of the male, a slender bill, and narrow wings, the extremely rapid beating of which produces a humming sound: noted for their ability to hover and to fly upward, downward, and backward in a horizontal position.

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Origin of hummingbird

An Americanism dating back to 1625–35; humming + bird

Words nearby hummingbird

humiture, hummable, hummel, hummer, humming, hummingbird, hummingbird moth, humming top, hummock, hummus, humongous

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

How to use hummingbird in a sentence

The strategy seems meant to address the hummingbird effect of people flitting from one streaming subscription to another each month, as sought-after shows and movies leave one service and land on another.
Future of TV Briefing: TV’s upfront advertisers hold tight|Tim Peterson|February 17, 2021|Digiday
He should be wintering down south with the hummingbirds, but he’s drawing crowds at the C&O Canal.
Catch me if you can: An unlikely hummingbird is banded at a Virginia park|John Kelly|January 18, 2021|Washington Post
There shouldn’t be a hummingbird at Green Spring Gardens this time of year.
Catch me if you can: An unlikely hummingbird is banded at a Virginia park|John Kelly|January 18, 2021|Washington Post
The Nazca people created these images—depicting such characters as a whale, a hummingbird, and an astronaut-esque man—nearly 2,000 years ago.
The famous Nazca lines aren’t mysterious—but they are ingenious|Sara Kiley Watson|January 3, 2021|Popular-Science

A security consultant receives an envelope with a key to a storage unit containing a taxidermic hummingbird.
21 books to look forward to in 2021|Rachel King|December 26, 2020|Fortune
Take Huitzilopochtli, the typically tongue-twisting Aztec name of an old hummingbird god.
Mexico City’s Magical Moment of Resurgence|Condé Nast Traveler|February 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The L.A. indie rockers are back with Hummingbird, the highly anticipated follow-up to their acclaimed debut, Gorilla Manor.
Local Natives’ New Album ‘Hummingbird’ Reveals Darker Tone Born of Tragedy|Melissa Leon|January 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The home now has a new locked metal mailbox decorated with an intricate metal hummingbird and scorpion.
One Year After Gabrielle Giffords’s Shooting: Tucson’s Renewal-Themed Memorial|Terry Greene Sterling|January 9, 2012|DAILY BEAST
My eldest son, a sleepy teenager, found a damp baby hummingbird, dazed and confused.
Our Visit From Irene|India Hicks|August 27, 2011|DAILY BEAST
After her death, they said, they saw her in the trees, in the hummingbird's flight, in the clouds.
The Secret Celebrity Parenting Craze|Gina Piccalo|October 31, 2010|DAILY BEAST
I have try lately to console myself to find another woman, as much as it is possible like my hummingbird.
Polly the Pagan|Isabel Anderson
Then comes a ball to which I shall wear a frock all little fluttering iridescent draperies, suggesting an airy hummingbird.
Polly the Pagan|Isabel Anderson
Hummingbird was a charming boat in every respect, comparatively roomy, a good sea boat, and a wonderful performer to windward.
The Sportswoman's Library, v. 2|Various
The wee mother hummingbird never left her nest on the lower oak limb.
The Story of Opal|Opal Whiteley
Their nests are among the most beautiful of bird architecture, even surpassing that of the Hummingbird.
Bird Guide: Land Birds East of the Rockies|Chester A. (Chester Albert) Reed

British Dictionary definitions for hummingbird

hummingbird

/ (ˈhʌmɪŋˌbɜːd) /

noun

any very small American bird of the family Trochilidae, having a brilliant iridescent plumage, long slender bill, and wings specialized for very powerful vibrating flight: order Apodiformes

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