parakeet

American  

[par-uh-keet] / ˈpær əˌkit /

Also paraquet, or parrakeet

noun

parakeets plural

1. any of numerous small, slender parrots, usually having a long, pointed, graduated tail, often kept as pets and noted for the ability to mimic speech: several species are endangered.

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parakeet British  

/ ˈpærəˌkiːt /

noun

1. any of numerous small usually brightly coloured long-tailed parrots, such as Psittacula krameri ( ring-necked parakeet ), of Africa

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• parakeets
  plural

Etymology

Origin of parakeet

1575–85; from Middle French paroquet “parrot,” apparently originally a diminutive of P(i)errot, diminutive of Pierre “Peter,” as a name for a parrot; the modern form and its earlier variants have been influenced by Italian parrocchetto and Spanish periquito (both ultimately from Middle French )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

parakeet parakeets

Her caged parakeet in the upper corner stares back at us, acknowledging our voyeurism.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

The super breeders saving their endangered parakeet species.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026

The bumps push out candy-striped and aproned gowns; they are exaggerated by belted waists, and one particularly protuberant tummy doubles as a perch for a parakeet.

From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2025

Swansea’s parakeet population is by no means the first in the UK.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2023

Life was pretty exciting when you were Incandesto’s parakeet.

From "Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures" by Kate DiCamillo

He goes by, tells her the parakeets are like “flying candy.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati discovered that monk parakeets meeting unfamiliar birds tend to "test the waters" before deciding whether a potential partner is safe to approach.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 23, 2025

Grief, too, steers us, a cleansing ritual, as I recall each time my wife and I meander beneath Green-Wood’s leafy canopy, parakeets swooping and chattering overhead, or sit quietly in its hushed chapel.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2025

This is true for a veritable zoo of nonhuman creatures, including horses, parakeets, monkeys, and lizards, who all see the illusion as well.

From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2025

Hollow plastic parakeets full of sweets with heads you could unscrew.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy