bird

A1
US /ˈbɜːd/
noun verb Freq #1336

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    term for a young, attractive woman

    I'm going to have dinner with that bird I met last week.

  2. 2
    verb

    to watch and study birds in their natural habitat

    I like to bird in my free time.

  3. 3
    noun

    An animal of the clade (traditionally class) Aves in the phylum Chordata, characterized by being warm-blooded, having feathers and wings usually capable of flight, having a beaked mouth, and laying eggs.

    Ducks and sparrows are birds.

  4. 4
    noun

    A chicken; the young of a fowl; a young eaglet; a nestling.

    […] the foxes have holes, and the brydds of the aier have nestes, but [t]he sonne of the man hath not where onto leye his heede: […]

  5. 5
    noun

    A man, fellow.

    He once took in his own mother, and was robbed by a 'pal,' who thought he was a doctor. Oh, he's a rare bird is 'Gentleman Joe'!

  6. 6
    noun

    A girl or woman, especially one considered sexually attractive.

    And by my word! the bonny bird / In danger shall not tarry.

  7. 7
    noun

    An aircraft.

    “Cabin cleaners? They have worked on this bird. Don't you know you've always got to clean up after the cleaners? What they don't teach you in school these days.”

  8. 8
    noun

    A satellite.

    Deployment of the fourth bird "should ensure that Inmarsat has sufficient capacity in orbit in the early 1990s, taking into account the possibility of launch failures and the age of some of the spacecraft in the Inmarsat first generation system

Etymology

Etymology tree Old English bridd Middle English brid English bird From Middle English bird, brid, from Old English bridd (“chick, fledgling, chicken”), of uncertain origin (see Old English bridd for more). Originally from a term used of birds that could not fly (chicks, fledglings, chickens) as opposed to the general Old English term for flying birds, fugol (modern fowl). Gradually replaced fowl as the most common term starting in the 14th century. The "booing/jeering" and "vulgar hand gesture" senses derived from the expression “to give the big bird”, as in “to hiss someone like a goose”, dat…

View etymology graph →

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · term for a young,... chickdamedollskirtwench
2 verb · to watch and study birds in... birdwatch
3 noun · an animal of the clade... avianfeathered folkfeathered friendfowl
5 noun · a man, fellow. blokeboybrobroskibruhcatchapchappychieldcovecoveydawg
6 noun · a girl or woman, especially... babebaggagebimbintbirdbitchblonebroadcakechickcolleencovess
More birdie
Word family
Derived forms antbirdantibirdapostlebirdbarley-birdbeambirdbellbirdbill-birdbird's-footbird-alanebird-brainedbird-cagebird-call
Related forms birbburdchirpornithicornithologysquawktweet

Send feedback

Optional — only if you'd like a reply.