puffin

American  

[puhf-in] / ˈpʌf ɪn /

noun

1. any of several alcidine sea birds of the genera Fratercula and Lunda, having a short neck and a large, compressed, grooved bill, as F. arctica Atlantic puffin, of the North Atlantic.

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puffin British  

/ ˈpʌfɪn /

noun

1. any of various northern diving birds of the family Alcidae (auks, etc), esp Fratercula arctica ( common or Atlantic puffin ), having a black-and-white plumage and a brightly coloured vertically flattened bill: order Charadriiformes

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Etymology

Origin of puffin

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English poffoun, poffin, puffon (compare Anglo-Latin poffo, puffo ); origin uncertain

Example Sentences

That included investment in products to help teachers with administrative tasks, an automated mapping system to monitor puffin populations using drones, and software to identify toxins which could give firefighters cancer.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

Today, ten of the UK's 25 breeding seabird species are on the Red List, among them the puffin and the kittiwake.

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026

The puffin was later collected by the wildlife experts who told her it was skinny and was likely to have been struggling a while.

From BBC • Jan. 28, 2026

Claire Anthony, 25, and boyfriend, Joel Swindle, 24, said they discovered a puffin being attacked by crows while walking their dog in Lunan Bay in Angus on Saturday.

From BBC • Jan. 28, 2026

Holidays were frivolous and silly, whereas a migration sounded much more serious and responsible, befitting a puffin of the military class.

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el