bird

noun · verb

Simple meaning

Warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates having feathers and forelimbs modified as wings.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

burd

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈbɝd

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

Warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
An animal of the clade (traditionally class) Aves in the phylum Chordata, characterized by being warm-blooded, having feathers and wings usually capable of flight, having a beaked mouth, and laying eggs.
Badminton equipment consisting of a ball of cork or rubber with a crown of feathers
UKwith definite articlechiefly in phrases
Booing and jeering, especially as done by an audience expressing displeasure at a performer.
with definite article
The vulgar hand gesture in which the middle finger is extended.
ukirelandcolloquial
A girl or woman, especially one considered sexually attractive.

verb

intransitive
To observe or identify wild birds in their natural environment.
transitiveslang
To bring into prison, to roof.
intransitivefiguratively
To seek for game or plunder; to thieve.
Watch and study birds in their natural habitat
intransitive
To catch or shoot birds; to hunt birds.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency: Common
Typical Use: General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings

Used this way, bird is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: Matter-of-fact
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use bird

“A small bird built a nest in our backyard tree.”noun

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Warm / animal

white bird

Informal

young bird

Other combinations

bird speciesbird lifelady birdsmall birdblue bird

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

bird lousenounCompound term
Wingless insect with mouth parts adapted for biting.
bird-nestverbCompound term
Gather birdnests.
bird of jovenounCompound term
Any of various large keen-sighted diurnal birds of prey noted for their broad wings and strong soaring flight.
bird of junonounCompound term
Very large terrestrial southeast Asian pheasant often raised as an ornamental bird.
bird of minervanounCompound term
Nocturnal bird of prey with hawk-like beak and claws and large head with front-facing eyes.
bird of nightnounCompound term
Nocturnal bird of prey with hawk-like beak and claws and large head with front-facing eyes.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

birdhousenounRelated term
A shelter for birds.
bird's footnounRelated term
The foot of a bird.
bird's nestnounRelated term
Nest where birds lay their eggs and hatch their young.
birdseed grassnounRelated term
Canary Islands grass.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.