sapsucker

[ sap-suhk-er ]

/ ˈsæpˌsʌk ər /

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noun

any of several American woodpeckers of the genus Sphyrapicus that drill holes in maple, apple, hemlock, etc., drinking the sap and eating the insects that gather there.

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Compare yellow-bellied sapsucker.

Origin of sapsucker

An Americanism dating back to 1795–1805; sap¹ + sucker

Words nearby sapsucker

saprophyte, saprotroph, saprozoic, SAPS, sapsago, sapsucker, Sapulpa, sapwood, Saqqara, SAR, Sara

British Dictionary definitions for sapsucker

sapsucker

/ (ˈsæpˌsʌkə) /

noun

either of two North American woodpeckers, Sphyrapicus varius or S. thyroideus, that have white wing patches and feed on the sap from trees

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