storm petrel

or storm-petrel

See synonyms for storm petrel on Thesaurus.com

noun

any of several small, tube-nosed seabirds of the family Hydrobatidae, usually having black or sooty-brown plumage with a white rump.

Origin of storm petrel

First recorded in 1795–1805

Compare stormy petrel.

Words Nearby storm petrel

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

How to use storm petrel in a sentence

The storm petrel hovered high, swooped close, her lips parted.
The Best Short Stories of 1921 and the Yearbook of the American Short Story | Various
Like the puffin and the storm-petrel, razor-bills rarely leave the sea except for breeding.
The Isles of Scilly | Jessie Mothersole
He disappears as does the storm petrel when the sea is quiet.
The Tempering | Charles Neville Buck
Yesterday and today great numbers of a storm petrel (Thalassidroma leucogastra) have been following in our wake.
Narrative Of The Voyage Of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commanded By The Late Captain Owen Stanley, R.N., F.R.S. Etc. During The Years 1846-1850. Including Discoveries And Surveys In New Guinea, The Louisiade Archipelago, Etc. To Which Is Added The Account Of Mr. E.B. Kennedy's Expedition For The Exploration Of The Cape York Peninsula. By John Macgillivray, F.R.G.S. Naturalist To The Expedition. In Two Volumes. Volume 1. | John MacGillivray

British Dictionary definitions for storm petrel

storm petrel

noun

any small petrel, such as the northern Hydrobates pelagicus, of the family Hydrobatidae, typically having a dark plumage with paler underparts: Also called: Mother Carey's chicken, stormy petrel

Origin of storm petrel

C19: so named because it was thought to be a harbinger of rough weather

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

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