stork
Americannoun
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any of several wading birds of the family Ciconiidae, having long legs and a long neck and bill.
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the stork, this bird as the mythical or symbolic deliverer of a new baby.
My brother and his wife are expecting the stork in July.
noun
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any large wading bird of the family Ciconiidae, chiefly of warm regions of the Old World, having very long legs and a long stout pointed bill, and typically having a white-and-black plumage: order Ciconiiformes
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(sometimes capital) a variety of domestic fancy pigeon resembling the fairy swallow
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of stork
before 900; Middle English; Old English storc; cognate with German Storch, Old Norse storkr; akin to stark
Explanation
A stork is a large water bird with long legs, a big bill, and a legendary reputation for leaving babies on doorsteps. Real storks don't deliver babies; they mostly stand around in marshes all day. Myths going back to ancient European folklore describe storks delivering infants to their expectant parents. In Europe, it was considered good luck if a stork made a nest on a house, and that became a handy answer to questions about where babies come from: The stork brought it! Sometimes the common birthmarks on the backs of babies' heads are even called "stork bites."
Vocabulary lists containing stork
Birds, Birds, Birds, List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Zookeepers in an online group began asking whether any facility was missing a Marabou stork.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026
Among those taken in are a blind swan, an eagle with an amputated wing and a stork that suffered a concussion during an air attack.
From Barron's • May 20, 2026
The work by Rabone, from South Staffordshire, will examine how well the white stork can adapt to different environments and habitats, alongside what the public, farmers and land managers think about the plans.
From BBC • May 10, 2026
The researchers in this study also found large footprints from a bird, likely from the giant marabou stork lineage, according to the study.
From Salon • Nov. 29, 2024
Two wolves ran past the children, talking eagerly to a very tall stork who was tip-toeing between them with dainty, delicate movements.
From "Mary Poppins" by P. L. Travers
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
