sparrow hawk

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noun

a small, short-winged European hawk, Accipiter nisus, that preys on smaller birds.

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Origin of sparrow hawk

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

Words nearby sparrow hawk

sparoid, sparring partner, sparrow, sparrowfart, sparrowgrass, sparrow hawk, sparry, sparse, sparsely, Sparta, Spartacist

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use sparrow hawk in a sentence

“No eyes are on the sparrow, eyes are on the sparrow / He is singing anyway.”
Is Bigger Better for St. Vincent?|David Yaffe|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When Donald Regan asked, “Did we object to Israelis sending HAWK ... missiles to Iran?”
How the Reagan White House Bungled Its Response to Iran-Contra Revelations|Malcolm Byrne|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The NSPG meeting defined the official line on the HAWK deal, but it did not address the funding diversion.
How the Reagan White House Bungled Its Response to Iran-Contra Revelations|Malcolm Byrne|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Monk said to Hawk, 'You're the great Coleman Hawkins, right?
The Stacks: John Coltrane’s Mighty Musical Quest|Nat Hentoff|October 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST

For me, I signed on to The Avengers 1-3 and then Hawk-Eye, in case they want to do a Hawk-Eye spin-off.
Jeremy Renner Opens Up About Marriage, His Problems with the Media, and the Future of Hawk-Eye|Marlow Stern|September 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Since Henry Hawk could sit in a great elm far up the road and see himp.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole|Arthur Scott Bailey
Out of the darkening sky rang the twanging call of a night-hawk, and the cluck of a dozing hen sounded from the foliage overhead.
The Soldier of the Valley|Nelson Lloyd
The memory of the hawk-nosed, steel-eyed officer who rode from Kurnaul to Meerut in twenty-four hours smote him like a whip.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
This one I brought home and kept in my aviary till March, 1868, when it was killed by a Hawk striking it through the wires.
Birds of Guernsey (1879)|Cecil Smith
A giant of a fellow with an eye like a hawk and a big black beard that seems, somehow, to suggest a blacksmith.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy

British Dictionary definitions for sparrow hawk (1 of 2)

sparrowhawk

/ (ˈspærəʊˌhɔːk) /

noun

any of several small hawks, esp Accipiter nisus, of Eurasia and N Africa that prey on smaller birds

British Dictionary definitions for sparrow hawk (2 of 2)

sparrow hawk

noun

a very small North American falcon, Falco sparverius, that is closely related to the kestrels

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