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

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

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

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