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• phoebe
  phoebe

  noun

  any of several small American flycatchers of the genus Sayornis, especially S. phoebe, of eastern North America.
• Phoebe
  Phoebe

  noun

  a Titan, daughter of Uranus and Gaia and mother of Leto, later identified with Artemis and with the Roman goddess Diana.

phoebe

¹ American  

[fee-bee] / ˈfi bi /

noun

• phoebes
  plural

1. any of several small American flycatchers of the genus Sayornis, especially S. phoebe, of eastern North America.

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Phoebe ² American  

[fee-bee] / ˈfi bi /

noun

1. Classical Mythology. a Titan, daughter of Uranus and Gaia and mother of Leto, later identified with Artemis and with the Roman goddess Diana.

2. Astronomy. one of the moons of Saturn.

3. Literary. the moon personified.

4. a female given name.

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Phoebe ¹ British  

/ ˈfiːbɪ /

noun

1. classical myth a Titaness, who later became identified with Artemis (Diana) as goddess of the moon

2. poetic a personification of the moon

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Phoebe ² British  

/ ˈfiːbɪ /

noun

1. the outermost satellite of the planet Saturn. It has retrograde motion and a dark surface

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phoebe ³ British  

/ ˈfiːbɪ /

noun

1. any of several greyish-brown North American flycatchers of the genus Sayornis, such as S. phoebe ( eastern phoebe )

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• phoebes
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of phoebe¹

1690–1700, imitative; spelling by influence of Phoebe

Origin of Phoebe²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English Phebe, Phebee, from Latin Phoebē, from Greek Phoíbē, feminine of phoîbos “shining, radiant, bright”; see Phoebus ( def. ) 

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Explanation

Phoebes are small songbirds that belong to the tyrant flycatcher family. They are found in North America, and most phoebes have grayish-brown feathers and short, pointed bills they use to catch insects. Birds in the tyrant flycatcher family are so called because they are surprisingly territorial for such small birds. Phoebes boldly defend their hunting perches and nesting sites, chasing away intruders, calling loudly and repeatedly to warn rivals, and dive-bombing predators. Phoebes perch on fence posts, branches, or ledges, wagging their tails and watching for flying insects to eat. They make short, darting flights to catch them. Their name comes from their raspy, two-note call, which sounds like "fee-bee," and was originally spelled phebe.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

phoebe Phoebe phoebes

They also recognized acorn woodpeckers, a California towhee, dozens of turkey vultures circling overhead, a dark-eyed junco, a mockingbird, an Anna’s hummingbird and a black phoebe.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2023

Every year for 35 years, we’ve had an eastern phoebe nest under the eaves of our back porch.

From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2023

It was, she explained from behind a pair of binoculars, her first sighting of a bird called a black phoebe, which normally ranges no closer to Puget Sound than Southern Oregon.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 2, 2017

In 2011 the Fish and Wildlife Service convinced the Justice Department to file criminal indictments against three oil companies working in North Dakota’s Bakken field for inadvertently killing six ducks and one phoebe.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2016

The phoebe clicks out his alarm cry and I tense.

From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

Customer Phoebe Ma, 24, said that when her mother's generation was young, China "wasn't so developed" and people were initially familiar with only a handful of luxury brands.

From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2026

Friends Phoebe Constanta and Ella Birkwood, second-year students at Nottingham Trent University, are among those trying the new night that combines pumping iron with pumping tunes.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Phoebe pulled through the virus but did face some longer-term problems, including being admitted to hospital several times with chest problems.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

She said she took Phoebe to hospital and "it escalated from there", with the family told on Christmas Eve that she had RSV positive bronchiolitis.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

“Strange,” Phoebe said, looking at the lifeboats that hung just off the deck.

From "I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912" by Lauren Tarshis

Eastern phoebes are in the flycatcher family and consume not just flies, but also wasps, grasshoppers and even ticks — great news to those of us who can’t walk in the woods without getting bitten.

From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2023

Before eastern phoebes lived so close to humans, they built their nests on cliffs.

From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2023

“But warmer spring weather induces house sparrows to nest earlier in some areas, and eastern phoebes may have lost their usual seasonal head start,” he said.

From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2023

“If bluebirds and eastern phoebes have an enemy, it is we humans, not the house sparrows we brought here.”

From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2023

Time for these young phoebes to leave the nest.

From Birds Every Child Should Know by Neltje Blanchan

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