oriole

[ awr-ee-ohl, ohr- ]

/ ˈɔr iˌoʊl, ˈoʊr- /

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noun

any of several usually brightly colored, passerine birds of the family Oriolidae, of the Old World.Compare golden oriole.

any of several brightly colored passerine birds of the family Icteridae, of the New World.

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Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

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In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Compare northern oriole, orchard oriole.

Origin of oriole

1770–80; <French oriol,Old French <Medieval Latin oriolus, variant of Latin aureolus golden, equivalent to aure(us) golden (derivative of aurum gold) + -olus-ole¹

Words nearby oriole

Orillia, orinasal, Orinda, O-ring, Orinoco, oriole, Orion, Orionids, Orion Nebula, orisha, Oriskany

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

How to use oriole in a sentence

The next day, he spent the morning at Memorial Stadium pouring cokes at an Oriole party for a hundred poor children.
Will the Real Jim Palmer Please Stand Up|Tom Boswell|September 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But Father Oriole heard the three willow whistles and he turned and began to whistle back—oh such a pretty song.
Seven O'Clock Stories|Robert Gordon Anderson
In the fork of two high branches was a great round nest—oh ever so much bigger than the thrush's and the oriole's.
Seven O'Clock Stories|Robert Gordon Anderson
Father Oriole, you see, was more interested in getting fat beetles and caterpillars for food.
Seven O'Clock Stories|Robert Gordon Anderson

And once Mother Oriole found, caught in the shutter, little threads of Hepzebiah's hair.
Seven O'Clock Stories|Robert Gordon Anderson
So for a number of days in the warm weather, and in the rainy weather too, Mother Oriole sat faithfully on her nest.
Seven O'Clock Stories|Robert Gordon Anderson

British Dictionary definitions for oriole

oriole

/ (ˈɔːrɪˌəʊl) /

noun

any songbird of the mainly tropical Old World family Oriolidae, such as Oriolus oriolus (golden oriole), having a long pointed bill and a mostly yellow-and-black plumage

any American songbird of the family Icteridae, esp those of the genus Icterus, such as the Baltimore oriole, with a typical male plumage of black with either orange or yellow

Word Origin for oriole

C18: from Medieval Latin oryolus, from Latin aureolus, diminutive of aureus, from aurum gold

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