ostrich
Pluralostriches
- 1A very large bird that cannot fly and runs fast on long, strong legs.
Like a giant chicken with long legs that runs instead of flying.
An ostrich can run very fast on its long, strong legs.
We saw several ostriches at the wildlife park.
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- 2The most common type, a large flightless African bird known as the common ostrich.
An ostrich on the savanna can sprint away from lions and other predators.
These African ostriches gather in small groups near water holes.
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- 3A person who ignores problems instead of dealing with them.
Like someone who covers their eyes and thinks the danger will go away.
Don't be an ostrich. Talk to your boss about the problem.
He's such an ostrich about his debts, pretending the bills aren't real.
- 4In golf, finishing one hole five shots under par, which almost never happens.
Like getting a perfect score that is almost impossible to reach.
Scoring an ostrich means finishing a par-six hole in a single shot.
Friends joked that he would sooner win the lottery than card an ostrich.
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Less common meaning
- 5A large flightless bird from South America, also called the rhea.
The travelers spotted an ostrich darting across the South American plain.
The Lengua Indians of the Gran Chaco love to hunt the ostrich
1911, James George Frazer, The Golden BoughHere, ostrich means the rhea, a large flightless bird of South America.Note
Practice
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Origin
It came through Old French and Anglo-Norman from Latin words meaning "bird" and "ostrich," going back to Greek.