parrot

[par-uh t]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR parrot ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

a person who, without thought or understanding, merely repeats the words or imitates the actions of another.

verb (used with object)

to repeat or imitate without thought or understanding.

to teach to repeat or imitate in such a fashion.

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

Related formspar·rot·like, adjectivepar·rot·y, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for parroting

recite, copycat, imitate, quote, reiterate, echo, mimic, mime, chant, copy, ape

Examples from the Web for parroting

Contemporary Examples of parroting

This requires not just teaching to the test and not just parroting critiques.
The Elite American College Pile-On
Michael S. Roth
September 15, 2014
Over there, “journalists,” such as they are, literally survive by parroting the government.
Meet the Censors, Propagandists and Outright Liars Who Won Putin’s Pulitzers
James Kirchick
May 5, 2014
Some of what they said sounded like a rhetorical, if earnest, parroting of notions they'd heard from teachers.
Talking to Women of the Wall's Ultra-Orthodox Teenage Protesters
Elisheva Goldberg
November 6, 2013
They are parroting the old party line that always puts special interests ahead of the national interest.
Obama, Boehner & Congress Need to Get Fiscal-Cliff Deal Done Now
John Avlon
December 19, 2012
Parroting another government line, the article raises the specter of a Russian intervention if postelection unrest flares.
Will Scandalous Videos Topple Georgia’s President? A Rebuttal
Tedo Japaridze
September 24, 2012

Historical Examples of parroting

"My translator is working badly," the voice of the elder was parroting.
The Ties That Bind
Walter Miller
She was conscious of parroting the current phrases of the newspapers, but it was no time to pick and choose her words.
Between The Dark And The Daylight
William Dean Howells
The King made a few screen appearances, parroting things Makann wanted him to say.
Space Viking
Henry Beam Piper
One of my draft is killed and five wounded and here everyone is parroting about a Merry Christmas.
Letters from Mesopotamia
Robert Palmer
Later he put it into Altrurian, and I memorized it, and made myself immensely popular by parroting it.
Through the Eye of the Needle
William Dean Howells

British Dictionary definitions for parroting

parrot

noun

any bird of the tropical and subtropical order Psittaciformes, having a short hooked bill, compact body, bright plumage, and an ability to mimic soundsRelated adjective: psittacine

a person who repeats or imitates the words or actions of another unintelligently

sick as a parrot usually facetious extremely disappointed

verb -rots, -roting or -roted

(tr) to repeat or imitate mechanically without understanding

Derived Formsparrotry, noun

Word Origin for parrot

C16: probably from French paroquet; see parakeet

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

Word Origin and History for parroting

parrot

"repeat without understanding," 1590s, from parrot (n.). Related: Parroted; parroting.

parrot

1520s, of uncertain origin, perhaps from dialectal Middle French perrot, from a variant of Pierre "Peter;" or perhaps a dialectal form of perroquet (see parakeet). Replaced earlier popinjay. The German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt in South America in 1800 encountered a very old parrot that was the sole speaker of a dead Indian language, the original tribe having gone extinct.