parrot
Americannoun
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any of numerous hook-billed, often brilliantly colored birds of the order Psittaciformes, as the cockatoo, lory, macaw, or parakeet, having the ability to mimic speech and often kept as pets.
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a person who, without thought or understanding, merely repeats the words or imitates the actions of another.
verb (used with object)
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to repeat or imitate without thought or understanding.
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to teach to repeat or imitate in such a fashion.
noun
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any bird of the tropical and subtropical order Psittaciformes, having a short hooked bill, compact body, bright plumage, and an ability to mimic sounds
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a person who repeats or imitates the words or actions of another unintelligently
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facetious extremely disappointed
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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parrotsimple
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parrotssimple
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have parrotedperfect
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has parrotedperfect
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am parrotingprogressive
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are parrotingprogressive
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is parrotingprogressive
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have been parrotingperfect progressive
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has been parrotingperfect progressive
Past
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parrotedsimple
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had parrotedperfect
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was parrotingprogressive
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were parrotingprogressive
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had been parrotingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of parrot
1515–25; apparently < Middle French P ( i ) errot, diminutive of Pierre ( see parakeet), though a comparable sense of the French word is not known until the 18th century
Explanation
A parrot is a brightly colored tropical bird with a distinctly loud voice. If you see someone calling a colorful bird "Polly" and asking it if it wants a cracker, that's a parrot. Parrots are popular pets because many of them have the ability to mimic sounds they hear, sometimes including human speech. In fact, this skill has led to a secondary meaning of the word parrot, "mimic mindlessly." You could say, for example, "I'm not going to just parrot everything the teacher says — I'm no parrot." The origin of the word is uncertain, although we know that before parrot, this bird was called a popinjay.
Vocabulary lists containing parrot
A Vocabulary Bestiary: Animals That Behave as Verbs
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Amazing Animals, A-Z
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Amazing Animals, List 3
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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.
Today, the kākāpō is the world's only flightless parrot.
From Science Daily • Jun. 23, 2026
To explore the question, the researchers turned to data from the ManyParrots project, a collaborative network that studies parrot learning, cognition, and vocal behavior through surveys and audio recordings.
From Science Daily • Jun. 14, 2026
How Bruce the beakless parrot became an alpha male.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 21, 2026
They synthesize and parrot back the script’s outrageous plot points, serving as a Greek chorus, though being reasonable wouldn’t push Anna toward her destiny.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
The parrot shrank as far from Cassiopeia’s reach as it could, its claws digging deep into the scalp of the protesting actor to whom it was attached.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
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.
