waxwing

[ waks-wing ]

noun
  1. any of several songbirds of the family Bombycillidae, having a showy crest and certain feathers tipped with a red, waxy material, as Bombycilla garrulus(Bohemian waxwing ), of the Northern Hemisphere.

Origin of waxwing

1
First recorded in 1810–20; wax1 + wing

Words Nearby waxwing

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

How to use waxwing in a sentence

  • The Bohemian waxwing, like the only other member of the family that ever visits us, the cedar-bird, is a roving gipsy.

    Bird Neighbors | Neltje Blanchan
  • Taken in this sense, the Bohemian or Wandering waxwing, as it used to be called, is a name open to no exception.

  • The cedar waxwing is a strange bird, with a very pronounced species-individuality, totally unlike any other bird of our country.

    The Log of the Sun | William Beebe
  • Cherry-bird is another name which is appropriately applied to the cedar waxwing.

    The Log of the Sun | William Beebe
  • Surely no bird has less right to be associated with evil than this mild waxwing.

    Bird Neighbors | Neltje Blanchan

British Dictionary definitions for waxwing

waxwing

/ (ˈwæksˌwɪŋ) /


noun
  1. any of several gregarious passerine songbirds of the genus Bombycilla, esp B. garrulus, having red waxy wing tips and crested heads: family Bombycillidae

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