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Synonyms

rookery

American  
[rook-uh-ree] / ˈrʊk ə ri /

noun

plural

rookeries

  1. a breeding place or colony of gregarious birds or animals, as penguins and seals.

  2. a colony of rooks.

  3. a place where rooks congregate to breed.

  4. a crowded tenement house.

rookery British  
/ ˈrʊkərɪ /

noun

  1. a group of nesting rooks

  2. a clump of trees containing rooks' nests

    1. a breeding ground or communal living area of certain other species of gregarious birds or mammals, esp penguins or seals

    2. a colony of any such creatures

  4. archaic an overcrowded slum tenement building or area of housing

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
rookery Scientific  
/ rk′ə-rē /

  1. A place where certain birds or animals, such as crows, penguins, and seals, gather to breed.

Etymology

Origin of rookery

First recorded in 1715–25; rook 1 + -ery

Vocabulary lists containing rookery

"Genesis of the Tenement," Vocabulary from the essay

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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.

For the study, scientists collected brain samples from four sea lions, one fur seal and a tern found dead at the most affected sea lion rookery in Argentina.

From Science Daily • Feb. 28, 2024

The declining water level uncovered a land bridge connecting an island rookery to the shore.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2023

The expedition was the first to sight an Emperor Penguin rookery and obtain an egg of the species.

From BBC • Sep. 26, 2022

In the rookery, jet-black newborn pups wriggled close to their mothers.

From Washington Post • Feb. 3, 2022

As Arya crossed the yard to the bathhouse, she spied a raven circling down toward the rookery, and wondered where it had come from and what message it carried.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

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.