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sandpiper

[sand-pahy-per]
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noun
  1. any of numerous shore-inhabiting birds of the family Scolopacidae, related to the plovers, typically having a slender bill and a piping call.
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Origin of sandpiper

First recorded in 1665–75; sand + piper
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

grousequailcurlewpartridgepheasantploversandpipersnipewildfowlwoodcock

Examples from the Web for sandpiper

Historical Examples

  • I did, indeed, hear part of a wren's song, and the call of the sandpiper; but that was all.

    Fresh Fields

    John Burroughs

  • After the eagle had passed the sandpiper resumed his feeding.

  • Curiously enough the Sandpiper is not aquatic in its habits.

  • It had no tail, but it wagged the hind end of its body just as a sandpiper does.

    Birds of the Plains

    Douglas Dewar

  • It is a very similar bird to the Least Sandpiper, and about the same size.

    The Bird Book

    Chester A. Reed

British Dictionary definitions for sandpiper

sandpiper

noun
  1. any of numerous N hemisphere shore birds of the genera Tringa, Calidris, etc, typically having a long slender bill and legs and cryptic plumage: family Scolopacidae, order Charadriiformes
  2. any other bird of the family Scolopacidae, which includes snipes and woodcocks
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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

Word Origin and History for sandpiper

n.

1670s, from sand (n.) + piper.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper