waterfowl
Americannoun
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a water bird, especially a swimming bird.
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such birds taken collectively, especially the swans, geese, and ducks.
noun
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any aquatic freshwater bird, esp any species of the family Anatidae (ducks, geese, and swans)
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such birds collectively
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of waterfowl
1250–1300; Middle English; cognate with German Wasservogel; see water, fowl
Vocabulary lists containing waterfowl
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.
See Examples For:
Rawlence explained that although waterfowl fossils are abundant at St Bathans, goose remains are much less common.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
Minks also prey on ground-nesting birds such as snipe, lapwing and waterfowl, as well as kingfishers and sand martins.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
The wild birds most affected by the H5 strain include waterfowl, shorebirds, seabirds and birds of prey.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
By the early 1990s, duck populations had exceeded the high of the 1950s; by 2015 almost 50 million waterfowl populated the prairie pothole region of the northern Great Plains.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
These particular refuges occupy critical positions in the conservation of western waterfowl.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
In the wild, influenza viruses generally spread among migratory waterfowls, such as ducks and geese.
From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2024
In fact, fast-swimming marine mammals and waterfowls tend to forgo drag-based thrust in favor of lift-based thrust, another propulsion system.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 8, 2024
The buffer of plants will discourages waterfowls, which prefer open grassy areas and succulent lawns, according to the public-health department.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 13, 2021
Our eyes sought in vain those waterfowls, the habits of which vary in each tribe.
From Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804 — Volume 2 by Humboldt, Alexander von
Currecoos are waterfowls, as big as pretty large chickens, of a bluish colour, with short legs and tail; they feed also in swampy ground and are very good meat.
From A Voyage to New Holland by Dampier, William
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.
