any of several small Old World birds having a red or reddish breast, especially Erithacus rubecula, of Europe.
a large American thrush, Turdus migratorius, having a chestnut-red breast and abdomen.
any of several similar thrushes of the New World tropics, not necessarily having reddish underparts, as T. grayi clay-colored robin, of Mexico and Central America.
Also called: robin redbreast. a small Old World songbird, Erithacus rubecula , related to the thrushes: family Muscicapidae . The male has a brown back, orange-red breast and face, and grey underparts
a North American thrush, Turdus migratorius , similar to but larger than the Old World robin
any of various similar birds having a reddish breast
First recorded in 1540–50; short for robin redbreast
The sweet-sounding, red-chested birds that symbolize the beginning of spring are robins. There are actually many different birds called robins, and while most share a reddish-orange breast, they're actually distantly related to each other. In the U.S., the bird we think of as a robin is officially the American robin, a kind of thrush. It's the most common land bird in North America, and it's famous for laying eggs very early in the spring — and singing at the crack of dawn. The robin's most deadly predator is the domesticated cat.
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However, the naming of the robin as the UK's favourite bird did have its critics.
From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026
The centrepiece of the weekend will be a three-team round robin tournament with two teams of United States players and a World squad of global talent.
From Barron's • Jan. 19, 2026
Few things mark the winter season a much as frosty mornings, a sprinkling of snow and the robin, which comes into its own when the weather turns cold.
From BBC • Dec. 27, 2025
The first bat eventually abandoned its pursuit -- birds are agile aerialists too -- but the second succeeded after a nearly three-minute chase, capturing a robin near the ground.
From Science Daily • Nov. 2, 2025
Behind him the sentry witch’s robin dæmon cocked his head, and she turned from the watch she was keeping to see Will clambering up the rocks.
From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman
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.
