waterfowl

[ waw-ter-foul, wot-er- ]

/ ˈwɔ tərˌfaʊl, ˈwɒt ər- /

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noun, plural wa·ter·fowls, (especially collectively) wa·ter·fowl.

a water bird, especially a swimming bird.

such birds taken collectively, especially the swans, geese, and ducks.

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Origin of waterfowl

1250–1300; Middle English; cognate with German Wasservogel;see water, fowl

Words nearby waterfowl

waterflood, Waterford, Waterford glass, water for injection, water fountain, waterfowl, waterfowler, waterfront, water gap, water gas, water gate

How to use waterfowl in a sentence

So Zhiming Yuan made computer simulations of waterfowl waves.
Here’s why ducklings swim in a row behind mom|Emily Conover|November 16, 2021|Science News For Students
Using computer simulations of waterfowl waves, naval architect Zhiming Yuan of the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland, and colleagues calculated that a duckling cruising in just the right spot behind its mother gets an assist.
Here’s the physics of why ducklings swim in a row behind their mother|Emily Conover|October 20, 2021|Science News
Finds in and around the fireplace include bones of ducks and other waterfowl, a long, intact stone point and another point broken in two, a bone implement and seeds of several edible wetland plants.
The earliest evidence of tobacco use dates to over 12,000 years ago|Bruce Bower|October 11, 2021|Science News
When the sensors, which harvest energy from soil microbes and sunshine, are deployed later this year, they’ll track water quality and the sounds of crop-ravaging waterfowl.
The Brilliant 10: The most innovative up-and-coming minds in science|Bill Gourgey|September 20, 2021|Popular-Science

Look out for boats, swimmers or waterfowl, and once their absence is confirmed, find a medium-sized stone, ideally flat with rounded edges.
The Joy Of Idle Living|Sohini Das Gupta|August 29, 2021|Ozy
The Federal Duck Stamp Act raised the fee on stamps needed to hunt waterfowl on federal land from $15 to $25.
Nazis, Sunscreen, and Sea Gull Eggs: Congress in 2014 Was Hella Productive|Ben Jacobs|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Wood pigeon, pheasant, partridge, grouse, peacocks, hares, wild rabbits, and waterfowl are all dietary staples.
Edible Taxidermy: It’s a Good Thing|Lizzie Crocker|August 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Anselme, thus enjoined, lent an unwonted alacrity to his movements, waddling grotesquely like a hastening waterfowl.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
I noticed that the tea was poured out of a pot made in the shape of a beautiful waterfowl, its beak forming the spout.
A Fantasy of Far Japan|Baron Kencho Suyematsu
There were plump young pigeons and hares and rabbits to be had, and very often he came in for waterfowl by the river.
Little Folks (November 1884)|Various
At the jhils the various waterfowl are nesting and each one proclaims the fact by its allotted call.
A Bird Calendar for Northern India|Douglas Dewar
All sorts of waterfowl came to Nanahboozhoo and they seemed anxious to hear what had been revealed.
Algonquin Indian Tales|Egerton R. Young

British Dictionary definitions for waterfowl

waterfowl

/ (ˈwɔːtəˌfaʊl) /

noun

any aquatic freshwater bird, esp any species of the family Anatidae (ducks, geese, and swans)

such birds collectively

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