sandpiper

[sand-pahy-per]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sandpiper ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

any of numerous shore-inhabiting birds of the family Scolopacidae, related to the plovers, typically having a slender bill and a piping call.

Origin of sandpiper

First recorded in 1665–75; sand + piper

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for sandpiper

grouse, quail, curlew, partridge, pheasant, plover, snipe, wildfowl, woodcock

Examples from the Web for sandpiper

Historical Examples of sandpiper

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.
Life Histories of North American Shore Birds, Part 1 (of 2)
Arthur Cleveland Bent
Curiously enough the Sandpiper is not aquatic in its habits.
Among the Birds in Northern Shires
Charles Dixon
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

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

any other bird of the family Scolopacidae, which includes snipes and woodcocks

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

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