shoebill

[ shoo-bil ]

noun

a large, African, storklike bird, Balaeniceps rex, having a broad, flattened bill shaped somewhat like a shoe.

Origin of shoebill

First recorded in 1870–75; shoe + bill²

Words Nearby shoebill

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use shoebill in a sentence

Hastily I rushed her out into the garden, where the shoebill regarded her with one eye of prehistoric wisdom.
It Happened in Egypt | C. N. Williamson

British Dictionary definitions for shoebill

shoebill

/ (ˈʃuːˌbɪl) /

noun

a large wading bird, Balaeniceps rex, of tropical E African swamps, having a dark plumage, a large head, and a large broad bill: family Balaenicipitidae, order Ciconiiformes

Origin of shoebill

C19: so named because of the shape of its bill

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

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