pheasant
Americannoun
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any of numerous large, usually long-tailed, Old World gallinaceous birds of the family Phasianidae, widely introduced.
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any of various other birds that resemble or suggest a pheasant.
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Southern U.S. the ruffed grouse.
noun
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any of various long-tailed gallinaceous birds of the family Phasianidae, esp Phasianus colchicus ( ring-necked pheasant ), having a brightly-coloured plumage in the male: native to Asia but introduced elsewhere
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any of various other gallinaceous birds of the family Phasianidae, including the quails and partridges
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any of several other gallinaceous birds, esp the ruffed grouse
Etymology
Origin of pheasant
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English fesaunt, from Anglo-French; Old French fesan, from Latin phāsiānus, from Greek phāsiānós (órnis) “(bird) of the Phasis,” a river in the Caucasus
Explanation
A pheasant is a wild bird with long tail feathers. Pheasants were first introduced to North America in the 1700s, and they've become a popular game bird for hunters. Pheasants are native to Asia, but they've existed in the U.S. for about 200 years. You can easily tell if a pheasant is a male — its coloring will be bright and showy, and it may have a wattle and an extremely long tail. Females tend to be smaller, with brown and white striped feathers. The midwestern states are popular with pheasant hunters, since the birds are plentiful there.
Vocabulary lists containing pheasant
List 10
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Birds, Birds, Birds, List 2
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List 9
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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.
Schwarzman, who usually arrives by helicopter, also bought the farm next door to host pheasant and partridge shoots.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 2, 2025
Mrs Deamer said when Snowy "landed" at their home near Luton, it jumped next door, but when they started putting out food for the pheasant, it came back.
From BBC • Jul. 26, 2025
And Ernest he was, writing in the morning, hiking the lush seaside overlooks in the afternoon, maybe bagging a pheasant or two with “Two-Gun” Cohen, and entertaining in the evenings at the bar.
From Salon • Jul. 12, 2025
I covered Gov. Walz on his pheasant hunt last fall when he was a vice presidential candidate.
From Slate • Jun. 17, 2025
On the second try they caught a pheasant.
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
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.
