bird

SayBURD/bɜɹd/UK/bɜːd/

Pluralbirds

Verbbirds, birding, birded

20 meanings of bird

Practice

1
animalnouncountable
A warm-blooded, feathered animal with wings and a beaked mouth that lays eggs and is usually able to fly.
The bird built its nest in the fork of the oak tree.
Ornithologists study how birds migrate across continents each year.
Similarfowl, avian
Note
Behind the everyday word is a takeover. Old English bridd meant a chick, fledgling or chicken, a bird that could not yet fly. Flying birds were fugol, the ancestor of modern fowl, which survives beside bird as a synonym. The young-bird word grew to cover the whole group, which biologists call the clade Aves, traditionally ranked as a class, within the phylum Chordata. The older meaning survives in the obsolete 'nestling' sense.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 7 facts
Old English bridd denoted a chick, fledgling or chicken that could not yet fly. en.wiktionary.org
Fugol was the Old English term for flying birds. en.wiktionary.org
Modern fowl descends from Old English fugol. en.wiktionary.org
The word for young birds broadened into the general term for birds. upload.wikimedia.org
Birds constitute the clade Aves. en.wikipedia.org
Aves is traditionally ranked as a class within Chordata. gla.ac.uk
Bird has an obsolete meaning referring to a young bird or nestling. en.wiktionary.org
2
wildlife watchingverbintransitive
To observe or identify wild birds in their natural surroundings.
Every spring, enthusiasts bird in the wetlands hoping to spot rare migrants.
She birded for years before recording her hundredth species.
UsageMost often met as birding, as in go birding.
Similarbirdwatch
Note
The same spelling also covers hunting birds. In writing about the countryside, birding may mean a gun as easily as binoculars, so let the context decide.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
Birding has also denoted hunting birds with firearms. en.wikipedia.org
3
chicken (food)nouncolloquialcountable
A chicken or turkey prepared and served as food.
The chef stuffed the bird with herbs before roasting it.
Once the bird reaches the right temperature, let it rest before carving.
UsageMostly the bird, once everyone knows which one: stuff the bird, carve the bird.
Note
Kitchen talk for whatever is roasting. The bird is the chicken or turkey on its way to the table, most familiarly the Thanksgiving turkey that someone has to stuff.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
Turkey is served at Thanksgiving and can be prepared with stuffing inside it. mdc.mo.gov

Less common meanings

4
middle fingernounwith the
A vulgar hand gesture made by extending the middle finger to express contempt or anger.
Caught on camera, the player flipped the bird at the jeering crowd.
Flipping someone the bird in traffic can escalate a minor dispute.
UsageUsually flip someone the bird or give someone the bird; in British use, give the bird can also mean boo.
Note
In James Patterson and Peter de Jonge's The Beach House (2002), a character raises both hands and flips him the bird with each one.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
The Beach House was written by James Patterson and Peter de Jonge. jamespatterson.com
The Beach House was first published in 2002. jamespatterson.com
The novel describes a character raising both hands and flipping him the bird with each hand. en.wiktionary.org
5
young womannouncolloquialIrelandUKcountable
A young woman, or a man's girlfriend.
There's a gorgeous bird working behind the bar tonight.
My cousin in Leeds is bringing his new bird to the wedding, so save a seat for her too.
Similargirlfriend, girl
Note
Thomas Campbell's 'bonny bird' of 1809 is tender. In Thomas Burke's Nights in London (1915), young men stroll out hoping to 'click' with the birds. Russell Brand, writing in The Guardian in 2013, sets birds beside blokes, its natural partner.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
Thomas Campbell used ‘bonny bird’ in Lord Ullin’s Daughter, published in 1809. archive.org
Thomas Burke’s Nights in London was first published in 1915. gutenberg.org
Burke describes young men strolling out and hoping to ‘click’ with ‘birds’. gutenberg.org
Russell Brand used ‘birds’ alongside ‘blokes’ in a Guardian article published in 2013. theguardian.com
6
aircraftnounslangcountable
An aircraft, especially a plane or helicopter.
Ground crew refueled the bird before its next flight.
The squadron lost two birds during the mission.
UsageCrew talk, often with this, that or our: this bird, our birds.
Similaraircraft, plane
Note
Crew talk for the aircraft someone works on or flies. A flight attendant in Coffee, Tea, or Me? (1967) grumbles about the cabin cleaners on 'this bird'. In Halo 3, a commander asks whether any of 'our birds' are squawking.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Coffee, Tea, or Me? was first published in 1967. en.wikipedia.org
A flight attendant in the book complains about cabin cleaners, calling the aircraft ‘this bird’. everand.com
A commander in Halo 3 asks whether any of ‘our birds’ are squawking. halopedia.org
7
badmintonnouncolloquialNorth Americancountablenorth american
The shuttlecock that badminton players hit back and forth over the net.
She let the bird drop just over the net, and her opponent couldn't reach it.
The gym teacher handed out rackets and a tube of plastic birds.
Similarshuttlecock, shuttle
Note
North American players' slang, heard in gyms and casual games, and easy to understand once you picture a feathered shuttlecock in flight. Birdie and shuttle are the other short names for it, and shuttlecock remains the word for rules, coaching manuals and formal writing. Outside North America, bird on its own is unlikely to call up badminton at all.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact
A shuttlecock can be made with feathers. en.wikipedia.org
8
personnounslangcountable
A man; a fellow.
My grandfather is a wise old bird, and he spotted the scam before any of us did.
He's a tough bird who never backs down from a fight.
UsageUsually with an adjective: a wise old bird, a rare bird, a tough bird.
Similarguy, dude, fellow, bloke, chap
Note
The man is a rare bird, an old red-headed bird in Conan Doyle, or a tall hungry-looking bird in Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep (1939). In plural, they are rum birds. The adjective does the real work, sizing the man up with amused detachment, in the same easy register as bloke and chap.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Conan Doyle uses the description 'old, red-headed bird' for a man in The Land of Mist; Lord John Roxton says it about McArdle. gutenberg.org
The phrase 'tall hungry-looking bird' occurs in Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep, in Philip Marlowe's narration. fadedpage.com
The Big Sleep was first published in 1939. openlibrary.org
9
nounobsolete
A chicken; the young of a fowl, such as a nestling or a young eaglet.
That ungentle gull, the cuckoo's bird.
c. 1597, William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth,”
Note
Read older texts with this meaning in mind. In Shakespeare's The First Part of Henry the Fourth, 'the cuckoo's bird' is the cuckoo's chick, raised in another bird's nest. Tyndale's New Testament of 1526 spells the word brydds.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
William Shakespeare wrote The First Part of Henry the Fourth. gutenberg.org
The play contains 'the cuckoo's bird', referring to a cuckoo's young being fed in another bird's nest; Worcester speaks the lines. gutenberg.org
Tyndale's complete New Testament was first published in 1526. loc.gov
The 1526 New Testament uses the spelling brydds. en.wiktionary.org
10
huntverbintransitive
To catch, shoot, or hunt birds.
Similarfowl, hunt, shoot
11
satellitenounslangcountable
An artificial satellite orbiting the Earth.
The network booked time on a different bird after the transponder failed.
Two birds went silent when the solar storm hit.
Similarsatellite
Note
Industry shorthand that carries the metaphor of the aircraft sense into orbit. It counts satellites as hardware: the fourth bird, a planned AsiaSat II bird, placing a bird in orbit. It is also the noun behind the broadcasting verb.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
The expressions 'the fourth bird', 'a planned AsiaSat II bird' and placing a bird in orbit are attested satellite examples. en.wiktionary.org
12
booingnounUKwith the
A hostile chorus of boos and jeers, typically from an audience showing displeasure with a performer.
The struggling band got the bird from a restless festival crowd.
She got the bird the moment she forgot her lines.
UsageUsually get the bird (be booed) or give someone the bird, which can also mean the middle-finger gesture.
13
easy courseadjectivecolloquialCanada
Easily passed with very little effort, said of an academic course.
He padded his schedule with a couple of bird electives to protect his average.
The intro class had a reputation as a bird course among second-years.
UsageMost often in the phrase bird course; it can also follow a verb: the class is bird.
Similareasy, soft
Oppositehard, tough, difficult
Note
Canadian campus slang that grew from the phrase bird course and now stands alone as an adjective. Students trade these verdicts the way they trade opinions on professors.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
The term belongs to Canadian campus slang. en.wiktionary.org
14
prison timenounslangUKuncountable
A prison sentence, or time spent in prison.
He'd done enough bird to know every routine of the prison day.
Three more months of bird and he would finally be free.
UsageUsually do bird, with no a: doing bird, two years of bird.
Similartime
Note
British slang for the time itself, the months or years actually spent inside. It can also mean the sentence itself, the term a court hands down, and in casual speech the two readily blur.
15
cocainenounslangUScountable
A kilogram of cocaine.
On the recording, the dealer promised he could get them another bird of cocaine by the end of the week.
The dealer bragged that he moved ten birds of coke a month through the warehouse.
Similarbrick, chicken
Note
American drug-trade slang, and a unit word: a bird is a kilogram, counted the way its synonyms chicken and brick are counted. Lil Wayne's 'Sh!t' (2015) plays on it with 'Sell birds to the bees.' Outside that world the line sounds like nonsense. Inside it, birds are the wholesale measure.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
Lil Wayne's track “Sh!t” dates from 2015. en.wiktionary.org
The track contains the exact words “Sell birds to the bees.” en.wiktionary.org
16
penisnounslangCanadaPhilippinescountable
The penis.
He caught his bird in his zipper and yelled in pain.
The streaker sprinted across the field with his bird out for all to see.
Similarwilly, dick
Note
Regional slang, used in Canada and the Philippines. Trailer Park Boys (2004) plays it for comedy: Bubbles accidentally glues a model bomber's wing to his bird. Elsewhere, listeners may hear the British word for a woman or simply an animal, so the joke works best among people who share the usage.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
The penis sense is labelled slang used in Canada and the Philippines. en.wiktionary.org
The relevant Trailer Park Boys episode aired in 2004. en.wikipedia.org
Bubbles recounts accidentally gluing a model bomber's wing to his penis. en.wiktionary.org
17
nouncountable
A convict, especially one assigned to manual labor in a prison yard.
Similarconvict, inmate, prisoner, con
18
send by satelliteverbtransitive
To transmit a signal or broadcast by way of a satellite.
Field units bird their feeds to the network hub for redistribution.
The producer birded the press conference to three continents at once.
Similarbeam, uplink, transmit, relay
Note
Television news built this verb straight from the satellite meaning: a crew birds its footage home. It most often appears in the passive. A story is birded through a local facility, and cassettes are birded to London. Yoel Cohen's Media Diplomacy (1986) sets 'birded' in quote marks, which marks it as broadcasting shop talk. In general writing, transmit or send by satellite is safer.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
An attested example describes a story being birded through local facilities. en.wiktionary.org
Yoel Cohen's Media Diplomacy was first published in 1986; 2012 is a later edition date. ariel.ac.il
Cohen's book uses quotation marks around birded when describing satellite transmission of cassettes to London. en.wiktionary.org
19
verbfigurativelyintransitive
To go in search of game or plunder; to thieve.
MAMMON: These day-owls. SURLY: That are birding in men's purses
1610, Ben[jamin] Jonson, The Alchemist
Similarforage, scavenge, loot, plunder, thieve
Note
The hunter's verb turned on people. In Ben Jonson's The Alchemist (first acted 1610), Mammon calls the swindlers 'day-owls' and Surly adds that they are 'birding in men's purses'. The image borrows hunting birds and moves it into the street. The thief is the fowler, and the purse is the ground he works.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
Ben Jonson wrote The Alchemist. gutenberg.org
The Alchemist was first acted in 1610. en.wikisource.org
Mammon calls the swindlers day-owls. gutenberg.org
Surly adds that they are birding in men's purses. gutenberg.org
The thieving sense is a figurative use of the verb meaning to hunt birds; the note's fowler-and-purse description interprets that metaphor. en.wiktionary.org
20
verbslangtransitive
To send or commit a person to prison.
Similarjail, imprison, incarcerate
Oppositerelease, free
Note
The prison noun turned into a verb, and mostly used in the passive: someone gets birded. ZK & Digga D's 'No Hook' (2017) has 'he got birded', followed by vexation at the verdict. Its near-twin is roof, another slang verb for the same thing. It shares the rhyming-slang ancestry of bird as prison time.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
The imprisonment verb derives from the prison-sentence noun. en.wiktionary.org
Wiktionary dates 'No Hook' to 2017 and credits its lyrics to ZK and Digga D. en.wiktionary.org
The song contains 'he got birded', followed by vexation at the verdict. en.wiktionary.org
Roof is also a slang verb meaning to imprison. en.wiktionary.org
The prison sense of bird has a rhyming-slang origin. en.wiktionary.org

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of bird apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–19

From Middle English bird or brid, from Old English bridd ("chick, fledgling"), of uncertain origin, which took over from fowl as the everyday word for birds from the 14th century. The booing and rude-gesture senses go back to the old phrase give the big bird, which likened an audience's hissing to a goose's.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts

Bird derives through Middle English from Old English bridd. en.wiktionary.org
Old English bridd meant a chick or fledgling. en.wiktionary.org
The earlier origin of bridd is uncertain. en.wiktionary.org
Bird began replacing fowl as the common term in the 14th century. en.wiktionary.org
Both slang senses derive from give the big bird. en.wiktionary.org
The theatrical expression associates audience hissing with a goose. gutenberg.org

Meaning 20

It started as Cockney rhyming slang: bird-lime rhymes with "time," and the phrase was cut down to bird.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

The prison-sentence sense of bird originated in Cockney rhyming slang. en.wiktionary.org
Bird-lime supplies the rhyme for time. en.wiktionary.org
Bird-lime was shortened to bird. en.wiktionary.org