whitethroat

American

[hwahyt-throht, wahyt-] / ˈʰwaɪtˌθroʊt, ˈwaɪt- /

noun

any of several small songbirds having a throat that is white, especially an Old World warbler, Sylvia communis.
white-throated sparrow.

whitethroat British

/ ˈwaɪtˌθrəʊt /

noun

either of two Old World warblers, Sylvia communis or S. curruca ( lesser whitethroat ), having a greyish-brown plumage with a white throat and underparts

"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 whitethroat

First recorded in 1670–80; white + throat

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:

whitethroat

It is a whitethroat; his nest is deep in the parsley and nettles.

From The Life of the Fields by Richard Jefferies

The whitethroat was sending out his "silver arrows of song" clearly and pensively from the depths of the velvet dusk.

From The Silver Maple by Mary Esther Miller MacGregor

It is a whitethroat; his nest is deep in the parsley and nettles.

From Pageant of Summer by Richard Jefferies

The whitethroat sings with crest erect, and attitudes of warning and defiance.

From Locusts and Wild Honey by John Burroughs

And after April, when May follows, And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows .

From There was a King in Egypt by Norma Lorimer

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