hawks

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of hawk.

   Several hawks perched along the highway, scanning the ditch for prey.

   Migrating hawks pass over the ridge by the thousands each autumn.

   Note

   A regular plural that covers every countable meaning of hawk: the birds, the Australian dragonflies, the political advocates of force, and the uncooperative players of the Hawk-Dove game. The biting wind is different, because it is usually spoken of with the definite article, as the hawk. The same spelling also serves as the verb form for he or she, so in 'she hawks' it names an action, not a flock.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of hawk.

   The vendor hawks his roasted nuts to passing commuters at dusk.

   Every weekend she hawks handmade jewelry at the flea market.

   Note

   Behind this one spelling stand quite different verbs: the falconer's hunting, the street seller's peddling, and the loud clearing of a throat. The object usually tells them apart. A vendor hawks wares, and a sufferer hawks mucus from the throat. A bird that hawks takes no object at all, because it simply strikes on the wing. Only the third-person singular adds the -s; I, you and they simply hawk.

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