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cuckooing

USKOO-koo-ing/ˈkuː.kuː.ɪŋ/UKKUU-koo-ing/ˈkʊk.uː.ɪŋ/

Pluralcuckooings

3 meanings of cuckooing

Practice

  1. 1
    nounUKcountable or uncountable
    A crime where a gang takes over the home of someone easy to bully and runs its crimes from there.

    The police say cuckooing is a growing problem in the town.

    After the cuckooing ended, the council found her a safer flat across town.

    Note
  2. 2
    noununcountable
    The sound a cuckoo bird makes.

    We woke up to the cuckooing of a bird in the woods.

    The children stopped to listen to the cuckooing coming from the trees.

  3. 3
    verb
    Present participle and gerund of cuckoo. Use it after is or was, or to name the action.

    We could hear a bird cuckooing in the woods.

    The police caught a gang cuckooing flats on the estate.

    Note

cuckooing is a form of cuckoo

cuckoo, verb: To make the two-note sound that a cuckoo bird makes. Full entry

Forms
cuckoocuckoos he/she/itcuckooing -ing formcuckooed past tense, past participle
Spelling
cuckoo → cuckooing: add -ing

Practice

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Origin

Named after the cuckoo bird, which leaves its eggs in other birds' nests.