Meanings
-
1
noun
a long-legged wading bird related to the ibises, with a broad, flat bill rounded at the tip
The spoonbill swept its flattened bill from side to side through the shallow water.
-
2
noun
a broad-billed duck, especially a shoveler
The marsh census listed several spoonbills among the wintering ducks.
-
3
noun
US regional: the American paddlefish, named for its long flattened snout
The angler released the young spoonbill into the river.
Thesaurus
Etymology
A compound of spoon + bill, first recorded in the seventeenth century, referring to the bird's broad, flattened, rounded beak. The same descriptive name was later applied regionally to broad-billed ducks and to the American paddlefish with its paddle-shaped snout.