Turkey

¹ American  

[tur-kee, tur-kee-ye] / ˈtɜr ki, ˈtɜr ki yɛ /

Or Türkiye

noun

1. a republic in western Asia and southeastern Europe. 296,184 sq. mi. (767,120 sq. km): 286,928 sq. mi. (743,145 sq. km) in Asia; 9,257 sq. mi. (23,975 sq. km) in Europe. Ankara.

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turkey ² American  

[tur-kee] / ˈtɜr ki /

noun

plural

turkeys,

plural

turkey

1. a large, gallinaceous bird of the family Meleagrididae, especially Meleagris gallopavo, of America, that typically has green, reddish-brown, and yellowish-brown plumage of a metallic luster and that is domesticated in most parts of the world.

2. the flesh of this bird, used as food.

3. the ocellated turkey.

4. Slang.

   1. a person or thing of little appeal; dud; loser.

   2. a naive, stupid, or inept person.

   3. a poor and unsuccessful theatrical production; flop.

5. Bowling. three strikes in succession.

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idioms

1. talk turkey, to talk frankly; mean business.

turkey ¹ British  

/ ˈtɜːkɪ /

noun

1. a large gallinaceous bird, Meleagris gallopavo , of North America, having a bare wattled head and neck and a brownish iridescent plumage. The male is brighter and has a fan-shaped tail. A domestic variety is widely bred for its flesh

2. the flesh of the turkey used as food

3. a similar and related bird, Agriocharis ocellata ( ocellated turkey ), of Central and N South America

4. any of various Australian birds considered to resemble the turkey, such as the bush turkey

5. slang

   1. a dramatic production that fails; flop

   2. a thing or person that fails; dud

6. slang a stupid, incompetent, or unappealing person

7. slang (in tenpin bowling) three strikes in a row

8. See cold turkey

9. informal to discuss frankly and practically

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Turkey ² British  

/ ˈtɜːkɪ /

noun

1. a republic in W Asia and SE Europe, between the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Aegean: the centre of the Ottoman Empire; became a republic in 1923. The major Asian part, consisting mainly of an arid plateau, is separated from European Turkey by the Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, and Dardanelles. Official languages: Turkish; Kurdish and Arabic minority languages. Religion: Muslim majority. Currency: lira. Capital: Ankara. Pop: 80 694 485 (2013 est). Area: 780 576 sq km (301 380 sq miles)

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Turkey Cultural  

1. Republic straddling southeastern Europe and the Middle East, bordered by the Black Sea to the north, Georgia and Armenia to the northeast, Iran to the east, Iraq and Syria to the southeast, the Mediterranean Sea and the Aegean Sea to the southwest, and Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest. Ninety-seven percent of the country is in Asia. Ankara is its capital, but Istanbul is its largest city and former imperial capital.

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turkey More Idioms  

1. see cold turkey; talk turkey.

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Spelling

The Republic of Türkiye changed its official name from the Republic of Turkey on May 26, 2022, in a request submitted to the secretary-general of the United Nations by the country's minister of foreign affairs.

Usage

Plural word for turkey The plural form of turkey is turkeys (not turkies). Words that end with a -y preceded by a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) are made plural by adding an -s to the end, as in chimney/chimneys and monkey/monkeys. This can be confusing, because the plural form of words that end with a -y preceded by a consonant is made by changing the y to an i and adding -es, as in party/parties, candy/candies, and duty/duties.

Discover More

In 1871, the archaeologist and scholar Heinrich Schliemann discovered the site of ancient Troy on the west coast of Asian Turkey.

Parts of the country were devastated by an earthquake in 2000.

Turkey has been a member of NATO since 1952.

The declining Ottoman Empire allied with Germany, Austria, and Bulgaria in World War I and suffered disintegration and Greek occupation at the end of the war.

After the rise of a nationalist movement led by Kemal Ataturk, the Republic of Turkey was established in 1923.

Turkey has long resisted separatist demands from militant Kurds in the eastern part of the country.

The country's relations with Greece have been characterized by tension and conflict for centuries.

The Ottoman Empire emerged in Anatolia (the western portion of Asian Turkey) during the thirteenth century and survived until 1918. At its height, during the sixteenth century, the empire stretched from the Persian Gulf to western Algeria and included all of southeastern Europe.

Other Word Forms

• anti-Turkey adjective
• anti-Türkiye adjective
• pro-Turkey adjective
• pro-Türkiye adjective

Etymology

Origin of turkey

First recorded in 1545–55; short for Turkey cock and Turkey hen “cock of Turkey” and “hen of Turkey,” first applied to guinea fowl, and later confused with the American bird; guinea fowl ( def. )

Example Sentences

It comes after bird flu led to large numbers of turkeys being culled early, while a drier spring and summer hit sprout harvests.

From BBC

Judging the job market with delayed data is a bit like trying to cook the Christmas turkey blindfolded—hard to tell if it’s undercooked, overdone, or just right.

From Barron's

“Will you be near the deli? I’d love that smoked turkey thing I had last week.”

From Literature

The company calls Thanksgiving its Super Bowl, when its cooks crank out to-go meals of ham, turkey and pecan pie.

From The Wall Street Journal

Somalis represent about a quarter of production workers at the Jennie-O turkey plant, the economic engine of this community of nearly 22,000 some 95 miles west of Minneapolis.

From The Wall Street Journal