Dictionary.com

snowbird

[ snoh-burd ]
/ ˈsnoʊˌbɜrd /
Save This Word!

noun
any of various birds that winter in a cold, snowy climate, especially the dark-eyed junco and the snow bunting.
Informal. a person who vacations in or moves to a warmer climate during cold weather: Since 9/11, the ease with which Canadian snowbirds cross the U.S. border has changed.
Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. a person addicted to cocaine or heroine: The cocaine addiction of pre-talkies film star Alma Rubens earned her the unfortunate nickname “Silent Snowbird.”
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

Origin of snowbird

First recorded in 1665–75; snow (in the sense “precipitation; snowflake”) + bird;1910–15 for def. 3, with snow (in the sense “cocaine or heroin”)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use snowbird in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for snowbird

snowbird
/ (ˈsnəʊˌbɜːd) /

noun
another name for the snow bunting
US slang a person addicted to cocaine, or sometimes heroin
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
FEEDBACK