kingfisher
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of kingfisher
1400–50; king + fisher; replacing king's fisher, late Middle English kinges fisher
Explanation
A kingfisher is a colorful bird that catches fish by diving dramatically into the water. The Australian kookaburra is the largest species of kingfisher. Among about 90 different kingfisher species, most have brilliant blue feathers and a very long, pointed bill. These bright birds are mainly found in tropical climates near rivers and other bodies of water, making fish and crustaceans the major part of their diet. Etymologists know the bird's original name was king's fisher (with the fisher part being self-explanatory), but the rest of the word's history is unknown.
Vocabulary lists containing kingfisher
Birds, Birds, Birds, List 2
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Summer of the Monkeys
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Dragon's Gate
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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:
"That's a large amount of habitat that's now been null and void for the kingfisher to use in future."
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2025
"Now, we know which of the underlying genes are shifting that help create the differences that we see across the kingfisher family," says Eliason.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2023
The kingfisher abounds in Egyptian art; on the wall of the Green Room it appears amid the stems and umbels of a dense papyrus thicket at the moment it takes its helldive.
From New York Times ● Jun. 6, 2023
A lot of footage was captured over nine months, but he said one of the biggest challenges was filming the kingfisher sequence, which "took me three years to get enough good footage".
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2022
The cry of a kingfisher and the scream of a bluejay blended perfectly with the drumlike beat.
From "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls
Other birds in the area include pygmy owls, belted kingfishers and wild turkey.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2025
"Spring hasn't even fully sprung at WWT Slimbridge yet a pair of kingfishers seem to think so as they have already starting digging a hole to nest," a Trust spokesperson said today.
From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2024
We had a brilliant breeding season for kingfishers in 2023 and in January the Reserve Team were busy getting the banks ready for this year's birds.
From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2024
Not all kingfishers actually fish -- many species of these birds eat land-dwelling prey like insects, lizards, and even other kingfishers.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2023
There were tiny kingfishers with bright orange bills that were as long as their bodies, and metallic plumage in shades of blue that made them glint like jewels in the sun.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
