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murre

American  
[mur] / mɜr /

noun

  1. either of two black and white diving birds of the genus Uria, of northern seas, U. aalge common murre or U. lomvia thick-billed murre.

  2. razor-billed auk.


murre British  
/ mɜː /

noun

  1. any guillemot of the genus Uria

"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

Etymology

Origin of murre

First recorded in 1595–1605; origin uncertain

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.

A study released by the University of Washington found the birds, called the common murre, probably died of starvation between the summer of 2015 and the spring of 2016.

From The Guardian • Jan. 16, 2020

Thirteen murre colonies in the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea, where thousands of murres gather to reproduce, experienced complete failures for at least one breeding season during or after the die-off.

From Washington Times • Jan. 15, 2020

From 2015 to 2017, 22 murre colonies from California to the Bering Sea didn’t produce a single chick.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 15, 2020

Of five common murre colonies in the gulf surveyed in 2018, only two seem to be breeding at normal levels.

From Science Magazine • Jan. 31, 2019

The most they saw that day was a school of silver pannies swimming south, but never a dolphin leapt nor did the flight of gull or murre or tern break the grey air.

From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin