snowbird

[ snoh-burd ]

/ ˈsnoʊˌbɜrd /

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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…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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”)

Words nearby snowbird

snowbank, snow banner, snowbell, snowbelt, snowberry, snowbird, snowblading, snow-blind, snow blindness, snowblink, snow blower

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

How to use snowbird in a sentence

They were snowbirds who hadn’t quite made it back north for the summer and year-round residents hunkered down for South Florida’s stickiest months.
Asleep in their beachfront condos, they vanished into a mountain of rubble|Lori Rozsa, Marc Fisher, Derek Hawkins, Silvia Foster-Frau|June 24, 2021|Washington Post
This is common “Black and White Snowbird” of the east, and is the same as above, but darker and does not have any white wing bars.
Western Bird Guide|Chester A. (Chester Albert) Reed, Harry F. Harvey, and Rex I. Brasher
He had remembered the Snowbird, fretting its high spirit out within the closed paddock, and a daring notion had seized him.
The Sun Maid|Evelyn Raymond
Yet still there was no sign of the Snowbird along the horizon, nor any point discernible where an Indian encampment might be.
The Sun Maid|Evelyn Raymond

The Snowbird stood saddled for many days: yet it was only upon errands of hospitality and charity that he was needed.
The Sun Maid|Evelyn Raymond
One of its German names, Schneevogel (snowbird), was evidently given in this belief.
British Birds in their Haunts|Rev. C. A. Johns

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