kingfisher
Americannoun
-
kingfishers
plural
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:
The streamlined beak of the kingfisher, which enters the water almost without a splash, became the model for the nose of Japan’s bullet train.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Highlights of 2023 included capturing images of the aurora on the Long Mynd in Shropshire and photographing a breeding kingfisher in a local river.
From BBC ● Dec. 30, 2023
"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
Perhaps the most striking is the pied kingfisher, commonly called a helldiver, with its black and white plumage, shaggy topknot and slender beak.
From New York Times ● Jun. 6, 2023
One day I floated there on my back, my eyes closed, listening to the rattling cries of a bird, a kingfisher that skimmed the water’s edge and crossed from shore to shore.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
The site has also attracted blue herons, kingfishers, otters, deer, bears, California condors and a resident herd of elk notorious for tearing up new seedlings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Other birds in the area include pygmy owls, belted kingfishers and wild turkey.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2025
Volunteers who monitor the site have seen kingfishers for the first time.
From BBC ● May 28, 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
‘Now what would you say that it is, Anborn? A squirrel, or a kingfisher? Are there black kingfishers in the night-pools of Mirkwood?’
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
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.
