hummingbird

[huhm-ing-burd]

noun

1. 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 humming sound: noted for their ability to hover and to fly upward, downward, and backward in a horizontal position.

hummingbird

/ ˈhʌmɪŋˌbɜːd /

noun

1. 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of hummingbird¹

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

Example Sentences

Other studies have shown that bees use static forces to gather pollen, flower mites cling to hummingbirds using electrostatic attraction, and ballooning spiders rely on charged silk to drift across long distances.

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Visitors will encounter pollinator gardens alive with butterflies and hummingbirds, color-themed landscapes, and cascading water features, all designed to reflect the beauty of Southern California’s environment with scents of rosemary, jasmine and chaparral.

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Gray-green Hollywood Flame fuchsia are just starting to bloom in long red tubes and are irresistible to hummingbirds.

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When it’s hot in Los Angeles, hummingbirds, butterflies and bees flock to the gardens that Lexie Glass and her husband, Evan Hursley, have been building in Harvard Park for the past three years.

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“I don’t know how we move forward without her. But I know she’s still here in every brushstroke, every kind gesture, every hummingbird. She was love in its purest form,” Sydney added.

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