pewee

[ pee-wee ]

/ ˈpi wi /

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noun

any of several New World flycatchers of the genusContopus.Compare wood pewee.

the phoebe.

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Origin of pewee

An Americanism dating back to 1790–1800; imitative

Words nearby pewee

peu de chose, Peul, Pevsner, pew, pewage, pewee, pew hinge, pewholder, pewit, pewter, pewterer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pewee in a sentence

Presently he had the little girl listen to a pewee twittering in a thorn-bush and the lusty call of a robin from an apple-tree.
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine|John Fox, Jr.
This bird differs chiefly in its lighter coloring, but not in habits, from the black pewee of the Pacific slope.
Bird Neighbors|Neltje Blanchan
The slightly larger size of the phœbe and pewee is not always apparent when they are seen perching on the trees.
Bird Neighbors|Neltje Blanchan
Now and again, as they rustled some low tree, a pewee or a nuthatch would give a startled chirp.
Earth's Enigmas|Charles G. D. Roberts

One thing must be said, however, in defence of the western wood-pewee—he means well.
Birds of the Rockies|Leander Sylvester Keyser

British Dictionary definitions for pewee

pewee

peewee

/ (ˈpiːwiː) /

noun

any of several small North American flycatchers of the genus Contopus, having a greenish-brown plumage

Word Origin for pewee

C19: imitative of its cry

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