eagle
Americannoun
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eagles
plural
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any of several large, soaring birds of prey belonging to the hawk family Accipitridae, noted for their size, strength, and powers of flight and vision: formerly widespread in North America, eagles are mostly confined to Alaska and a few isolated populations.
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a figure or representation of an eagle, much used as an emblem.
the Roman eagle.
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a standard, seal, or the like bearing such a figure.
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one of a pair of silver insignia in the shape of eagles with outstretched wings worn by a colonel in the U.S. Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps and by a captain in the U.S. Navy.
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Eagle, a gold coin of the United States, traded for investment, available in denominations of 5, 10, 25, and 50 dollars containing 1/10 to 1 troy ounce of gold, having on its reverse a picture of an eagle: first issued in 1986.
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a former gold coin of the United States, issued until 1933, equal to 10 dollars, showing an eagle on its reverse.
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Golf. a score of two below par for any single hole.
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Astronomy. Eagle, the constellation Aquila.
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Cards.
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a representation in green of an eagle, used on playing cards to designate a suit in the pack additional to the four standard suits.
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a card of a suit so designated.
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eagles, the suit itself.
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verb (used with object)
noun
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any of various birds of prey of the genera Aquila, Harpia, etc, having large broad wings and strong soaring flight: family Accipitridae (hawks, etc) See also golden eagle harpy eagle sea eagle
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a representation of an eagle used as an emblem, etc, esp representing power
the Roman eagle
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a standard, seal, etc, bearing the figure of an eagle
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golf a score of two strokes under par for a hole
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a former US gold coin worth ten dollars: withdrawn from circulation in 1934
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the shoulder insignia worn by a US full colonel or equivalent rank
verb
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of eagle
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English egle, from Anglo-French, Old French egle, aigle, from Latin aquila, noun use of feminine of aquilus “dark-colored”
Explanation
An eagle is a large bird that preys on smaller animals. Eagles, like hawks, are birds of prey, or raptors. Eagles are big, grand birds with powerful bodies and broad wings. Their impressive stature is reflected in the fact that they have often stood for power on the coats of arms, seals, and other emblems of various countries, including the United States, which names the bald eagle as its national bird. The Latin root of the word eagle is aquila, "black eagle" or "dark bird."
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:
A game called "Flappy Bill" features a bald eagle carrying a document in its claws that tries to avoid smashing into columns of various heights, against a background that resembles Washington DC.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
And the double-headed eagle of the Habsburg Empire sits atop a 19th-century silver and glass pin from Peru.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Its rehabilitation and breeding work has won awards and in 2007, the bald eagle was removed from the endangered species list.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
With a bald eagle, fighter jets, Air Force One, the Beast and race cars roaring through the nation’s capital, Trump certainly didn’t send the celebration out quietly.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
From above, in eagle form, Frank saw no monsters on the far side.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Sea eagles, also known as white tailed eagles, were hunted to extinction in the UK and the UK's last native white-tailed eagle was shot in Shetland back in 1918, according to the charity.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Her Dollywood amusement park has a lot more than rollercoasters - it's also home to the largest sanctuary for non-releasable bald eagles in the world.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
As well as rollercoasters, it is home to the largest sanctuary for non-releasable bald eagles in the world.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
The eagles delivered some viewers through difficult times, from losing loved ones to the COVID-19 lockdowns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
“This afternoon when we were scouting, we saw eagles again. They were a long way off, but closing fast. Octavian is on the warpath.”
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
Lee birdied seven of the first 15 holes and eagled the par-five 17th before a closing bogey at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida.
From Barron's ● Nov. 20, 2025
After bogeying the first hole, Phillips birdied the second, eagled the third and birdied the fourth to vault to the top of the leaderboard.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2025
After bogeys on the 12th and 13th, Griffin eagled the 15th and birdied the 16th to move to within a stroke of Scheffler.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2025
She eagled the par-5 13th and birdied 14 and 16, then missed the short putt on 17.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 27, 2024
And so I have pondered This thing, and thought may be 'T were better that Baby The First had been eagled or condored.
From The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce
Beckman birdied the 18th for a 71 a day after eagling the hole for a 64.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 5, 2022
After that went away, she parred the dangerous 12th before eagling No. 13 to start her torrid finish to top Arkansas’ Maria Fassi.
From Golf Digest ● Apr. 8, 2019
He had a bogey-free round, opening with a birdie on the par-5 first, eagling the par-5 seventh and adding birdies on the par-4 ninth and 16th.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 12, 2017
Englishman Sullivan made up for a double bogey at the fifth by eagling the 15th.
From Reuters ● Jan. 8, 2015
If not un-Englishing America in mind And heart forever, vain the shrieks Of Freedom, eagling back to dawn's first streaks.
From Freedom, Truth and Beauty by Edward Doyle
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.
