sparrow

[ spar-oh ]

/ ˈspær oʊ /

noun

any of numerous American finches of the family Emberizinae.Compare chipping sparrow, song sparrow.

any member of the Old World genus Passer, formerly thought to be closely related to the weaverbirds but now placed in their own family, Passeridae.

British. the house sparrow.

any of several other unrelated small birds.Compare Java sparrow, hedge sparrow.

(initial capital letter) Military. a 12-foot (4-meter), all-weather, radar-guided U.S. air-to-air missile with an 88-pound (40-kg) high-explosive warhead.

Nearby words

sparks, jared, sparky, sparling, sparoid, sparring partner, sparrow, sparrow hawk, sparrowfart, sparrowgrass, sparrowhawk, sparry

Origin of sparrow

before 900; Middle English sparowe, Old English spearwa; cognate with Gothic sparwa, Old Norse spǫrr

Related formsspar·row·less, adjectivespar·row·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sparrow

“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
Before she finished I began to paint, and she resumed the pose, smiling and chattering like a sparrow.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show|Robert W. Chambers|February 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A man “in traditional Alpine costume” addresses a group of children while holding a sparrow.
The Kaffeehaus Canon|George Prochnik|December 31, 2010|DAILY BEAST
I can hear her now warbling her own rendition of "His Eye Is on the Sparrow."
Dame Edna Mouths Off|Kevin Sessums|March 17, 2010|DAILY BEAST

"Don't you ever get tired of staying in the water," Sparrow would say, wondering.
Verotchka's Tales|Mamin Siberiak
When Hester left the jail she went straight to Sparrow Street.
A Girl of the People|L. T. Meade
He placed his pack on the ground and stalked them as a cat stalks a sparrow.
Love of Life|Jack London
So now, instead of running about amongst my red-legged brethren, as a pigeon ought, I am obliged to hop like a sparrow.
The Bird and Insects' Post Office|Robert Bloomfield
Manners had never so much as killed a sparrow in all his life.
The Scarecrow and Other Stories|G. Ranger Wormser

British Dictionary definitions for sparrow

sparrow

/ (ˈspærəʊ) /

noun

any weaverbird of the genus Passer and related genera, esp the house sparrow, having a brown or grey plumage and feeding on seeds or insects

US and Canadian any of various North American finches, such as the chipping sparrow (Spizella passerina), that have a dullish streaked plumage

Related formsRelated adjective: passerine

Derived Formssparrow-like, adjective

Word Origin for sparrow

Old English spearwa; related to Old Norse spörr, Old High German sparo

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

Word Origin and History for sparrow

sparrow

small brownish-gray bird, Old English spearwa, from Proto-Germanic *sparwan (cf. Old Norse spörr, Old High German sparo, German Sperling, Gothic sparwa), from PIE *sper- (cf. Cornish frau "crow;" Old Prussian spurglis "sparrow;" Greek spergoulos "small field bird," psar "starling"). Sparrowhawk is attested from c.1400. Sparrowfarts (1886) was Cheshire slang for "very early morning."