any warm-blooded vertebrate of the class Aves, having a body covered with feathers, forelimbs modified into wings, scaly legs, a beak, and no teeth, and bearing young in a hard-shelled egg.
a fowl or game bird.
Sports.
clay pigeon.
a shuttlecock.
Slang. a person, especially one having some peculiarity: He's a queer bird.
Informal. an aircraft, spacecraft, or guided missile.
Cooking. a thin piece of meat, poultry, or fish rolled around a stuffing and braised: veal birds.
Southern U.S.(in hunting) a bobwhite.
Chiefly BritishSlang. a girl or young woman.
Archaic. the young of any fowl.
the bird,Slang.
disapproval, as of a performance, by hissing, booing, etc.: He got the bird when he came out on stage.
scoffing or ridicule: He was trying to be serious, but we all gave him the bird.
an obscene gesture of contempt made by raising the middle finger.
verb (used without object)
to catch or shoot birds.
to bird-watch.
Idioms for bird
a little bird, Informal. a secret source of information: A little bird told me that today is your birthday.
bird in the hand, a thing possessed in fact as opposed to a thing about which one speculates: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.Also bird in hand.
birds of a feather, people with interests, opinions, or backgrounds in common: Birds of a feather flock together.
eat like a bird, to eat sparingly: She couldn't understand why she failed to lose weight when she was, as she said, eating like a bird.
for the birds, Slang. useless or worthless; not to be taken seriously: Their opinions on art are for the birds. That pep rally is for the birds.
kill two birds with one stone, to achieve two aims with a single effort: She killed two birds with one stone by shopping and visiting the museum on the same trip.
the birds and the bees, basic information about sex and reproduction: It was time to talk to the boy about the birds and the bees.
Origin of bird
First recorded before 900; Middle English byrd, bryd, Old English brid(d) (Northumbrian dialect bird ) “young bird, chick”
Exactly when the transition to modern domestic creature took place, for a bird that is wild to this day, is controversial.
The History of the Chicken: How This Humble Bird Saved Humanity|William O’Connor|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He really believed that enumerating the bird population gave understanding.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Portlandia marathon—9 am-2:30 pm, IFCBecause what better time than Turkey Day to put on a bird on it?
The Ultimate Thanksgiving Weekend TV Guide: Must-See Marathons, Specials, and Parades|Kevin Fallon|November 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And if the bird is smaller than we are accustomed to, so what?
Confessions of a Turkey Killer|Tom Sykes|November 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Once the bird was fully cleaned out, it was time to put it on the scales.
Confessions of a Turkey Killer|Tom Sykes|November 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is a bird of passage, visiting its customary breeding places in the summer and wintering in southern Europe.
Natural History in Anecdote|Various
Had he been an Italian bird, Ovid would have had a plaintive tale to tell about him.
My Garden Acquaintance|James Russell Lowell
He then treated the second bird in the same manner, and assisted his lady-love to consume it, as well as the remainder of the oil.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
I remonstrated with him for shooting the bird, for it was not close enough to do any harm.
Trails and Tramps in Alaska and Newfoundland|William S. Thomas
The bird turi or tuli is spoken of by Turner as the daughter, but by Stair as the son, of Tangaloa.
The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead|James George Frazer
British Dictionary definitions for bird (1 of 2)
bird
/ (bɜːd) /
noun
any warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrate of the class Aves, characterized by a body covering of feathers and forelimbs modified as wings. Birds vary in size between the ostrich and the humming birdRelated adjectives: avian, ornithic
informala person (usually preceded by a qualifying adjective, as in the phrases rare bird, odd bird, clever bird)
slang, mainlyBritisha girl or young woman, esp one's girlfriend
slangprison or a term in prison (esp in the phrase do bird; shortened from birdlime, rhyming slang for time)
a bird in the handsomething definite or certain
the bird has flowninformalthe person in question has fled or escaped
the birds and the beeseuphemistic, orjocularsex and sexual reproduction
birds of a featherpeople with the same characteristics, ideas, interests, etc
get the birdinformal
to be fired or dismissed
(esp of a public performer) to be hissed at, booed, or derided
give someone the birdinformalto tell someone rudely to depart; scoff at; hiss
kill two birds with one stoneto accomplish two things with one action
like a birdwithout resistance or difficulty
a little birda (supposedly) unknown informanta little bird told me it was your birthday
for the birdsorstrictly for the birdsinformaldeserving of disdain or contempt; not important
Any of numerous warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrate animals of the class Aves. Birds have wings for forelimbs, a body covered with feathers, a hard bill covering the jaw, and a four-chambered heart.
A Closer Look
It is generally believed that birds are descended from dinosaurs and probably evolved from them during the Jurassic Period. While most paleontologists believe that birds evolved from a small dinosaur called the theropod, which in turn evolved from the thecodont, a reptile from the Triassic Period, other paleontologists believe that birds and dinosaurs both evolved from the thecodont. There are some who even consider the bird to be an actual dinosaur. According to this view, the bird is an avian dinosaur, and the older dinosaur a nonavian dinosaur. Although there are variations of thought on the exact evolution of birds, the similarities between birds and dinosaurs are striking and undeniable. Small meat-eating dinosaurs and primitive birds share about twenty characteristics that neither group shares with any other kind of animal; these include tubular bones, the position of the pelvis, the shape of the shoulder blades, a wishbone-shaped collarbone, and the structure of the eggs. Dinosaurs had scales, and birds have modified scales-their feathers-and scaly feet. Some dinosaurs also may have had feathers; a recently discovered fossil of a small dinosaur indicates that it had a featherlike covering. In fact, some primitive fossil birds and small meat-eating dinosaurs are so similar that it is difficult to tell them apart based on their skeletons alone.