poultry
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of poultry
1350–1400; Middle English pulletrie < Middle French pouleterie. See pullet, -ery
Explanation
Domesticated birds raised for meat or eggs are poultry. If you're going to keep poultry in your back yard, you'll need to build a chicken coop. When you talk about eating chicken or turkey, you can refer to that type of meat as poultry: "I don't eat red meat — just a little fish and poultry." Other birds that fall into the category of poultry are domesticated guinea hens, ducks, and geese. If they're wild, on the other hand, they're called game. Before poultry came to mean "domestic fowl" in the 14th century, it meant "place where fowl is sold."
Vocabulary lists containing poultry
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocabulary for October 7–October 13, 2023
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for February 2–February 8, 2025
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"The Ugly Duckling" by Hans Christian Andersen
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Local arable, beef, and poultry farmer Rob Evans is part of the Walcot Farm Partnership alongside his wife Lucy and son Will.
From BBC • Jul. 1, 2026
Here are my favorite ways to turn a hot bag of poultry into creative, satisfying weeknight meals.
From Salon • Jun. 29, 2026
Food and poultry plants appear multiple times on the list of incidents.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 19, 2026
Facing reduced sales to China, Trump said his administration had expanded exports of American meat, poultry, soybeans, biofuels and Wisconsin dairy, citing stronger dairy sales to Japan, the Middle East, Europe, South Asia and Australia.
From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026
The poultry plant bus came each day to pick up adults and take them to the factory where they would daily pluck, hack, and process thousands of chickens.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
