bird

(bûrd)

a. Any of various warm-blooded egg-laying feathered vertebrates of the class Aves, having forelimbs modified to form wings.

b. Such an animal hunted as game.

c. Such an animal, especially a chicken or turkey, used as food: put the bird in the oven.

2. See clay pigeon.

3. Sports See shuttlecock.

4. Slang A rocket, guided missile, satellite, or airplane.

5. Slang A person, especially one who is odd or remarkable: a sly old bird.

6. Chiefly British Slang A young woman.

7. Slang

a. A loud sound expressing disapproval; a raspberry.

b. Discharge from employment: lost a big sale and nearly got the bird.

8. An obscene gesture of anger, defiance, or derision made by pointing or jabbing the middle finger upward.

intr.v. bird·ed, bird·ing, birds

1. To observe and identify birds in their natural surroundings.

2. To trap, shoot, or catch birds.

Idiom:

for the birds

Objectionable or worthless.

[Middle English, from Old English brid, young bird.]

bird′ing n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

bird

(bɜːd)

1. (Animals) any warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrate of the class Aves, characterized by a body covering of feathers and forelimbs modified as wings. Birds vary in size between the ostrich and the humming bird.

2. informal a person (usually preceded by a qualifying adjective, as in the phrases rare bird, odd bird, clever bird)

3. slang chiefly Brit a girl or young woman, esp one's girlfriend

4. slang prison or a term in prison (esp in the phrase do bird; shortened from birdlime, rhyming slang for time)

5. a bird in the hand something definite or certain

6. the bird has flown informal the person in question has fled or escaped

7. the birds and the bees euphemistic or jocular sex and sexual reproduction

8. birds of a feather people with the same characteristics, ideas, interests, etc

9. get the bird informal

a. to be fired or dismissed

b. (esp of a public performer) to be hissed at, booed, or derided

10. give someone the bird informal to tell someone rudely to depart; scoff at; hiss

11. kill two birds with one stone to accomplish two things with one action

12. like a bird without resistance or difficulty

13. a little bird a (supposedly) unknown informant: a little bird told me it was your birthday.

14. for the birds strictly for the birds informal deserving of disdain or contempt; not important

[Old English bridd, of unknown origin]

ˈbirdlike adj

Bird

(bɜːd)

(Biography) nickname of (Charlie) Parker

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

bird

(bɜrd)

n.

1. any warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrate of the class Aves, having feathers, forelimbs modified into wings, scaly legs, and a beak.

2. a fowl or game bird.

3. clay pigeon.

4. a shuttlecock.

5. Slang. a person, esp. one having some peculiarity: He's an odd bird.

6. Informal. an aircraft, spacecraft, or guided missile.

7. a thin piece of meat rolled around a stuffing and braised: veal birds.

8. Chiefly Brit. Slang. a girl or young woman.

9. the bird, Slang.

a. hissing, booing, etc., to show disapproval.

b. a gesture of contempt made by raising the middle finger.

10. Archaic. the young of any fowl.

v.i.

11. to catch or shoot birds.

12. to bird-watch.

Idioms:

1. birds of a feather, people with similar attitudes, interests, or experience.

2. for the birds, Informal. worthless; not to be taken seriously.

[before 900; Middle English byrd, bryd, Old English brid(d) young bird]

bird′like`, adj.

bird

(bûrd)

Any of numerous warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrate animals that have wings for forelimbs, a body covered with feathers, a hard bill covering the jaw, and a four-chambered heart.

Did You Know? Did birds evolve from dinosaurs? Most scientists who research the origin of birds think so, and they have lots of evidence to support this view. Small meat-eating dinosaurs and primitive birds share about 20 characteristics that neither group shares with other kinds of animals. Just a few of these include hollow bones, the position of the pelvis, the structure of their eggs, the shape of the shoulder blade, and a collarbone shaped into a wishbone. Dinosaurs had scales, and birds have modified scales—their feathers—and scaly feet. And it may be that at least some dinosaurs had feathers. Recently discovered fossils of a small dinosaur show that it had a feather-like covering. In fact, some primitive fossil birds and small meat-eating dinosaurs are so alike that it is difficult to tell them apart based on their skeletons alone.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	bird - warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings craniate, vertebrate - animals having a bony or cartilaginous skeleton with a segmented spinal column and a large brain enclosed in a skull or cranium Aves, class Aves - (ornithology) the class of birds dickeybird, dickey-bird, dickybird, dicky-bird - small bird; adults talking to children sometimes use these words to refer to small birds hen - adult female bird nester - a bird that has built (or is building) a nest night bird - any bird associated with night: owl; nightingale; nighthawk; etc bird of passage - any bird that migrates seasonally protoavis - most primitive avian type known; extinct bird of the Triassic having bird-like jaw and hollow limbs and breastbone with dinosaur-like tail and hind limbs archaeopteryx, Archaeopteryx lithographica, archeopteryx - extinct primitive toothed bird of the Jurassic period having a long feathered tail and hollow bones; usually considered the most primitive of all birds Sinornis - sparrow-sized fossil bird of the Jurassic period to the Cretaceous period having a keeled breastbone and vestigial tail; found in China; considered possibly the second most primitive of all birds Ibero-mesornis - sparrow-sized fossil bird of the Cretaceous period having a vestigial tail; found in Spain; considered possibly the third most primitive of all birds archaeornis - extinct primitive toothed bird with a long feathered tail and three free clawed digits on each wing flightless bird, ratite, ratite bird - flightless birds having flat breastbones lacking a keel for attachment of flight muscles: ostriches; cassowaries; emus; moas; rheas; kiwis; elephant birds carinate, carinate bird, flying bird - birds having keeled breastbones for attachment of flight muscles passeriform bird, passerine - perching birds mostly small and living near the ground with feet having 4 toes arranged to allow for gripping the perch; most are songbirds; hatchlings are helpless nonpasserine bird - chiefly arboreal birds especially of the order Coraciiformes bird of prey, raptor, raptorial bird - any of numerous carnivorous birds that hunt and kill other animals beak, neb, nib, pecker, bill - horny projecting mouth of a bird gallinacean, gallinaceous bird - heavy-bodied largely ground-feeding domestic or game birds parrot - usually brightly colored zygodactyl tropical birds with short hooked beaks and the ability to mimic sounds cuculiform bird - birds having zygodactyl feet (except for the touracos) coraciiform bird - chiefly short-legged arboreal nonpasserine birds that nest in holes apodiform bird - nonpasserine bird having long wings and weak feet; spends much of its time in flight caprimulgiform bird - long-winged nonpasserine birds piciform bird - any of numerous nonpasserine insectivorous climbing birds usually having strong bills for boring wood trogon - forest bird of warm regions of the New World having brilliant lustrous plumage and long tails aquatic bird - wading and swimming and diving birds of either fresh or salt water furcula - a forked bone formed by the fusion of the clavicles of most birds feather, plumage, plume - the light horny waterproof structure forming the external covering of birds wing - a movable organ for flying (one of a pair) pennon, pinion - wing of a bird bird's foot - the foot of a bird uropygium - posterior part of a bird's body from which the tail feathers grow croupe, rump, croup, hindquarters - the part of an animal that corresponds to the human buttocks air sac - any of the membranous air-filled extensions of the lungs of birds preen gland, uropygial gland - oil-secreting gland situated at the base of the tail in most birds syrinx - the vocal organ of a bird twitterer - a bird that twitters bird, fowl - the flesh of a bird or fowl (wild or domestic) used as food flock - a group of birds chirpy - (birds or insects) characterized by or tending to chirp
	2.	bird - the flesh of a bird or fowl (wild or domestic) used as food fowl bird - warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings wishbone, wishing bone - the furcula of a domestic fowl poultry - flesh of chickens or turkeys or ducks or geese raised for food wildfowl - flesh of any of a number of wild game birds suitable for food drumstick - the lower joint of the leg of a fowl second joint, thigh - the upper joint of the leg of a fowl wing - the wing of a fowl; "he preferred the drumsticks to the wings" giblet, giblets - edible viscera of a fowl oyster - a small muscle on each side of the back of a fowl parson's nose, pope's nose - the tail of a dressed fowl meat - the flesh of animals (including fishes and birds and snails) used as food dark meat - the flesh of the legs of fowl used as food
	3.	bird - informal terms for a (young) woman dame, wench, chick, doll, skirt fille, girl, miss, missy, young lady, young woman - a young woman; "a young lady of 18"
	4.	bird - a cry or noise made to express displeasure or contempt boo, Bronx cheer, razz, razzing, snort, hiss, hoot, raspberry cry, outcry, shout, vociferation, yell, call - a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition; "the speaker was interrupted by loud cries from the rear of the audience"
	5.	bird - badminton equipment consisting of a ball of cork or rubber with a crown of feathers shuttle, shuttlecock, birdie badminton equipment - equipment for playing the game of badminton
Verb	1.	bird - watch and study birds in their natural habitat birdwatch observe - watch attentively; "Please observe the reaction of these two chemicals"

bird

noun feathered friend, birdie, fledgling, fowl, warbler, songbird a rare bird

Related words
adjective avian, ornithic
male cock
female hen
young chick, fledg(e)ling, nestling
collective nouns flock, congregation, flight, volery
habitation nest
like ornithomania
fear ornithophobia

see seabirds, types of fowl

Quotations
"No ladder needs the bird but skies"
"To situate its wings,"
"Nor any leader's grim baton"
"Arraigns it as it sings" [Emily Dickinson]
"Who wills devoutly to absorb, contain,"
"birds give him pain" [Richard Wilbur The Beautiful Changes]
"I know what the caged bird feels, alas!" [Paul Lawrence Dunbar Sympathy]

Proverbs
"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"
"Birds of a feather flock together"

Birds

accentor, amazon, ani, avadavat or amadavat, avocet, babbler, Baltimore oriole, barbet, beccafico, bee-eater, bellbird, bird of paradise, bishopbird, bittern, blackbird, blackcap, blackcock, black grouse, blackpoll, bluebird, blue grouse, blue jay, bluethroat, bluetit, boatbill or boat-billed heron, bobolink, bobwhite, bokmakierie, bowerbird, brain-fever bird, brambling, broadbill, brolga, Australian crane, or (Austral.) native companion, budgerigar, bulbul, bullfinch, bunting, bush shrike, bushtit, bush wren, bustard, button quail, cacique, canary, Cape pigeon, capercaillie or capercailzie, Cape sparrow, capuchin, cardinal or cardinal grosbeak, carrion crow, cassowary, catbird, chaffinch, chat, chickadee, chicken or (Austral. inf.) chook, chiffchaff, chimney swallow or chimney swift, chipping sparrow, chough, chuck-will's-widow, chukar, cliff swallow, coal tit or coletit, cockatiel or cockateel, cockatoo, cock-of-the-rock, collared dove, coly or mousebird, conure, coppersmith, coquette, corella, corn bunting, corncrake, cotinga or chatterer, coucal, cowbird, crake, crane, crested tit, crocodile bird, crombec, crossbill, crow or (Scot.) corbie, cuckoo, cumulet, curassow, curlew, currawong or bell magpie, darter, anhinga, or snakebird, demoiselle (crane) or Numidian crane, diamond bird or pardalote, dipper or water ouzel, diver, dollarbird, dotterel or dottrel, dove or (archaic or poetic) culver, dowitcher, drongo, dunlin or red-backed sandpiper, egret, emperor penguin, emu, emu-wren, fantail, fernbird, fieldfare, fig-bird, finch, finfoot, firebird, firecrest, flamingo, flower-pecker, flycatcher, francolin, friarbird, frogmouth, galah, gang-gang, gnatcatcher, go-away bird, godwit, goldcrest, golden oriole, goldfinch, grackle or crow blackbird, grassfinch, grassquit, great crested grebe, great northern diver, great tit, grebe, greenfinch, green leek, greenlet, greenshank, green woodpecker, grey warbler or riroriro (N.Z.), grosbeak, grouse, guan, guinea fowl, hadedah, hawfinch, hazelhen, hedge sparrow or dunnock, helldiver, pie-billed grebe, or dabchick, hen harrier or (U.S. & Canad.) marsh harrier, heron, hill myna, hoatzin or hoactzin, homing pigeon, honey creeper, honey-eater, honey guide, honeysucker, hooded crow, hoopoe, hornbill, house martin, house sparrow, hummingbird or trochilus, ibis, jabiru, jacamar, jaçana or lily-trotter, jackdaw, jacksnipe, Jacobin, jaeger (U.S. & Canad.), Java sparrow, jay, junco, jungle fowl, kagu, kaka, kakapo, kea, killdeer, kingbird, kingfisher, king penguin, kiwi or apteryx, knot, koel, kokako, kookaburra or laughing jackass, kotuku, Lahore, lapwing or green plover, lark, limpkin or courlan, linnet, locust bird, loggerhead shrike, longspur, long-tailed tit, lorikeet, lory, lourie, lovebird, lyrebird, macaw, magpie, magpie lark, Major Mitchell, marabou, marsh tit, martin, meadowlark, meadow pipit, minivet, mistle thrush or missel thrush, mockingbird, monal or monaul, motmot or sawbill, mourning dove, myna, mynah, or mina, nighthawk, bullbat, or mosquito hawk, night heron, nightingale, nightjar or (U.S. & Canad.) goatsucker, noddy, noisy miner, nun, nutcracker, nuthatch, oil bird or guacharo, oriole, ortolan or ortolan bunting, ostrich, ouzel or ousel, ovenbird, oxpecker or tick-bird, parakeet or parrakeet, parrot, partridge, peacock, peafowl, peewit, pelican, penguin, phalarope, pheasant, pied wagtail, pigeon, pipit, plover, pratincole, ptarmigan, puffbird, puffin, pukeko, purple gallinule, pyrrhuloxia, quail, quarrian or quarrion, quetzal, racket-tail, rail, rainbow bird, raven, red-backed shrike, redbreast, red grouse, red-legged partridge, redpoll, redshank, redstart, redwing, reedbird, reed bunting, reedling or bearded tit, reed warbler, regent-bird, rhea or American ostrich, ricebird, riflebird, rifleman, ringed plover, ring-necked pheasant, ring ouzel, roadrunner or chaparral cock, robin or robin redbreast, rock dove or rock pigeon, rockhopper, roller, rook, rosella, rosy finch, ruff, ruffed grouse, runt, saddleback, saddlebill or jabiru, sage grouse, sanderling, sandgrouse, sand martin, sandpiper, sapsucker, Scandaroon, scarlet tanager, scrub bird, sedge warbler, seriema, serin, sheathbill, shoebill, shore bird or (Brit.) wader, shrike or butcherbird, sicklebill, siskin or (formerly) aberdevine, sitella or tree-runner, skimmer, skylark, snipe, snow bunting, snowy egret, solitaire, song sparrow, song thrush or mavis, sora, sparrow, spoonbill, spotted crake, spotted flycatcher, spotted sandpiper or (U.S.) peetweet, squacco, starling, stilt, stint, stock dove, stonechat, stone curlew or thick-knee, stork, sugar bird, sunbird, sun bittern, surfbird, swallow, swift, swiftlet, swordbill, tailorbird, takahe, tanager, tattler, tawny pippit, tern, thornbill, thrasher, thrush or (poetic) throstle, tit, titmouse, tody, toucan, touraco, turaco, or plantain-eater, towhee, tragopan, tree creeper, tree sparrow, trochilus, trogon, tropicbird, troupial, trumpeter, tui, turtledove, twite, umbrella bird, veery, verdin, wader or wading bird, wagtail, wall creeper, warbler, water rail, water thrush, wattlebird, waxbill, waxwing, weaverbird or weaver, weka, Maori hen, or wood hen, wheatear, whimbrel, whinchat, whip bird, whippoorwill, white-eye or (N.Z.) blighty, silvereye, or waxeye, whitethroat, whooping crane, willet, willow grouse, willow tit, willow warbler, wonga-wonga, woodchat or woodchat shrike, woodcock, wood ibis, woodlark, woodpecker, wood pigeon, ringdove, cushat, (Scot.) cushie-doo, or (English dialect) quist, woodswallow, wood warbler, wren, wrybill, wryneck, yellowhammer, zebra finch

Extinct birds archaeopteryx, archaeornis, dodo, great auk, huia, ichthyornis, moa, notornis, passenger pigeon, solitaire

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

bird

noun

Slang. Any of various derisive sounds of disapproval:

boo, catcall, hiss, hoot.

Slang: Bronx cheer, raspberry, razz.

Translations

voël

طَائِرطائِرطير

момичептица

pták

fugl

Vogel BrautIscheMieze Perle

πουλί γκόμενα κούκλα

birdo

ave pájaro chica muchacha

lindtibi

lintutipu

oiseau gonzesse nana poule taule

ptica

madár

burungcewek

fugl

uccello bambola tipo ragazza volatile

鳥鳥類

새

avis

paukštisvaizdas iš paukščio skrydžiopaukštė

putns

pasăre

ptičptica

fågelbrud

นก

kuş

птах

chim

鸟

bird

[bɜːd]

A. N

1. (gen small) → pájaro m (Zool, Culin) → ave f
bird of ill omen (liter) → pájaro m de mal agüero
a little bird told me → me lo dijo un pajarito
the bird has flown (fig) → el pájaro ha volado
they haven't yet told her about the birds and the bees → todavía no le han explicado las cosas de la vida
to kill two birds with one stone → matar dos pájaros de un tiro
to be strictly for the birds → ser cosa de poca monta or de tontos
they're birds of a feather → son lobos de una camada
birds of a feather flock together → Dios los cría y ellos se juntan
a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush → más vale pájaro en mano que ciento volando
see also early C

2. (Brit) (Theat) to get the bird → ganarse un abucheo, ser pateado
to give sb the bird → abuchear a algn, patear a algn

3. (Brit) (= girl) → chica f, pollita f, niña f (LAm); (= girlfriend) → chica f, amiguita f

4. (= fellow) → tipo m, tío m (Sp)
he's a queer bird → es un bicho raro

5. (= imprisonment) to do two years bird → pasar dos años a la sombra

B. CPD bird bath N → pila f para pájaros
bird brain N → casquivano/a m/f
bird call N → reclamo m
bird dog N (US) → perro m de caza
bird fancier N → criador(a) m/f de pájaros
bird flu N → gripe f aviar
bird nesting N to go bird nesting → ir a buscar nidos
bird of paradise N → ave f del paraíso
bird of passage N → ave f de paso
bird of prey N → ave f de rapiña
bird sanctuary N → reserva f de pájaros
bird's nest N → nido m de pájaro
bird table N mesita de jardín para poner comida a los pájaros

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

bird

[ˈbɜː^rd] n

(= animal) → oiseau m
a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush → un tiens vaut mieux que deux tu l'auras
to kill two birds with one stone → faire d'une pierre deux coups
to tell sb about the birds and the bees (humorous) (= the facts of life) → expliquer à qn que les bébés ne naissent pas dans les choux
birds of a feather flock together → qui se ressemble s'assemble

to give sb the bird (= boo) [audience] → huer qn, siffler qn

(British) (= girl) → nana f

to do bird (British) (= do time in prison) → faire de la taulebird bath n (in garden) → abreuvoir m à oiseauxbird brain n → tête f de linotte

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

bird

→ Vogel m; bird of paradise/passage (lit, fig) → Paradies-/Zugvogel m; to eat like a bird (fig inf) → essen wie ein Spatz (inf); the bird has flown (fig) → der Vogel ist ausgeflogen; a little bird told me (inf) → das sagt mir mein kleiner Finger; that’s strictly for the birds (inf) → das ist geschenkt (inf); a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush (Prov) → der Spatz in der Hand ist besser als die Taube auf dem Dach (Prov); to tell somebody about the birds and the bees → jdm erzählen, wo die kleinen Kinder herkommen ? feather, kill

(Cook) → Vogel m (hum inf)

(Brit inf: = girl) → Tussi f (sl)

(inf: = person) → Vogel m (inf); he’s a cunning old bird → er ist ein alter Fuchs

to give somebody the bird (esp Brit inf: = boo) → jdn auspfeifen; (US sl: = show the finger) → jdm den Stinkefinger zeigen; to get the bird (esp Brit inf) → ausgepfiffen werden; (US sl) → den Stinkefinger gezeigt bekommen

(Brit, inf, = prison term) → Knast m (inf); to do bird → sitzen (inf)

bird

birdbath

n → Vogelbad nt

bird box

n → Vogelhäuschen nt

bird brain

n (inf) to be a bird → ein Spatzenhirn haben (inf)

birdcage

n → Vogelbauer nt → or -käfig m

bird call

n → Vogelruf m

bird dog (US)

n (lit, fig) → Spürhund m

vt (inf) → beschatten (inf)

bird

bird fancier

n → Vogelzüchter m

bird flu

n → Vogelgrippe f, → Geflügel- or Hühnerpest f

birdhouse

n → Vogelhäuschen nt

bird

bird-like

adj → vogelartig

birdlime

n → Vogelleim m

bird of passage

n (lit, fig) → Zugvogel m

bird of prey

n → Raubvogel m

bird plague

n → Geflügel- or Hühnerpest f

bird sanctuary

n → Vogelschutzgebiet nt

birdseed

n → Vogelfutter nt

bird

birdsong

n → Vogelgesang m

bird table

n → Futterplatz m (für Vögel)

bird-watcher

n → Vogelbeobachter(in) m(f)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

bird

[bɜːd] n → uccello (Brit) (fam) (girl) → tipa, bambola
have you put the bird in the oven? → hai messo il pollo (or il tacchino ) nel forno?
a little bird told me (hum) → me l'ha detto l'uccellino
the early bird catches the worm (Proverb) → chi dorme non piglia pesci
a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush (Proverb) → meglio un uovo oggi che una gallina domani
birds of a feather flock together (Proverb) → chi si assomiglia si piglia
to kill two birds with one stone → prendere due piccioni con una fava

bird

(bəːd) noun

a two-legged feathered creature, with a beak and two wings, with which most can fly. Kiwis and ostriches are birds which cannot fly.

bird's-eye view

a general view from above. a bird's-eye view of the town from an aeroplane.

bird

→ طَائِر pták fugl Vogel πουλί ave lintu oiseau ptica uccello 鳥 새 vogel fugl ptak pássaro птица fågel นก kuş chim 鸟

bird

n ave f, pájaro