oriole

American  

[awr-ee-ohl, ohr-] / ˈɔr iˌoʊl, ˈoʊr- /

noun

• orioles
  plural

1. any of several usually brightly colored, passerine birds of the family Oriolidae, of the Old World.

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

---

oriole British  

/ ˈɔːrɪˌəʊl /

noun

1. 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

2. 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

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• orioles
  plural

---

Etymology

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 -ole ¹

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

oriole orioles

“I sometimes find it hard to enjoy a park hang with friends, because I’m hearing an oriole up above. So, in a way, it’s almost become debilitating and distracting.”

From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2025

Chimney swift, northern flicker, fish crow, killdeer, Baltimore oriole and gray catbird among them.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 7, 2023

“That’s a hooded oriole, getting nectar from an aloe plant,” Cornett said when I asked him to ID an eye-popping, bright yellow bird with a contrasting fan of black neck and wing feathers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2021

A few blocks away, “Around the World” by Richard Colman decorates the side of a chess club with a man playing checkers against an oriole, a nod to the Baltimore mascot.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 6, 2016

The nest of the orchard oriole is even more remarkable as a piece of woven texture.

From Eye Spy Afield with Nature Among Flowers and Animate Things by W. Hamilton (William Hamilton) Gibson

Market hunters used shotguns, nets and traps to fill traincars with passenger pigeons—as well as robins, woodpeckers, blackbirds and orioles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026

There's also some evidence that an animal's diet can trigger the condition in some species, such as Baltimore orioles.

From National Geographic ● Feb. 12, 2024

Fountains spout, hummingbirds and orioles dart and mountains rise in the background.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 31, 2023

Exactly why the area attracts as many as 13,000 tanagers, orioles, buntings, grosbeaks and warblers on a single day is not entirely understood.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2023

There were no insects singing, there were no catbirds, or orioles, or vireos, or robins.

From "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---