waxwing

American

[waks-wing] / ˈwæksˌwɪŋ /

noun

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.

waxwing British

/ ˈwæksˌwɪŋ /

noun

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

Etymology

Origin of waxwing

First recorded in 1810–20; wax ¹ + wing

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:

waxwing

The waxwing is described as a "plump bird" which is slightly smaller than a starling.

From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2023

The other part was Meyer’s description of the cedar waxwing, a bird especially partial to those berries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2023

A waxwing slain beneath a living-room window, its biannual journey stopped dead by the sky in a pane of glass.

From New York Times ● Apr. 18, 2023

But how does the waxwing, among the most frugivorous of birds, know the crop is ready?

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 29, 2022

As in the case of the Bohemian waxwing, this bird is also common to both worlds, being found through Northern Europe and Asia and the northern parts of this continent.

From Locusts and Wild Honey by John Burroughs

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023