overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

bird.

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.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈbɜːd/Australia[ˈbɜ̝ːd]Australia/ˈbɘːd/Australia[ˈbɘːd]Australia
  1. 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.

    Ducks and sparrows are birds.
  2. Any winged animal.

    obsolete
  3. A young bird, a nestling.

    obsolete
  4. A man, fellow.

    slang
  5. A girl or woman, especially one considered sexually attractive.

    Ireland · UK · colloquial
  6. A girl or woman, especially one considered sexually attractive. A girlfriend.

    Ireland · UK · broadly · colloquial
    Mike went out with his bird last night.
  7. An aircraft.

    slang
  8. A satellite.

    slang
  9. Booing and jeering, especially as done by an audience expressing displeasure at a performer.

    UK · with-definite-article
    to give the bird
  10. The vulgar hand gesture in which the middle finger is extended.

    with-definite-article
    to flip the bird
  11. A yardbird.

  12. A kilogram of cocaine.

    US · slang
  13. A penis.

    Canada · Philippines · slang
  14. Snowbird (retiree who moves to a warmer climate).

    informal
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Old English bridd Middle English brid English bird From Middle English bird, brid, from Old English bridd (“chick, fledgling, chicken”), of uncertain origin (see Old English bridd for more). Originally from a term used of birds that could not fly (chicks, fledglings, chickens) as opposed to the general Old English term for flying birds, fugol (modern fowl). Gradually replaced fowl as the most common term starting in the 14th century. The "booing/jeering" and "vulgar hand gesture" senses derived from the expression “to give the big bird”, as in “to hiss someone like a goose”, dated in the mid‐18th century.

verb/ˈbɜːd/Australia[ˈbɜ̝ːd]Australia/ˈbɘːd/Australia[ˈbɘːd]Australia
  1. To observe or identify wild birds in their natural environment.

    intransitive
  2. To catch or shoot birds; to hunt birds.

    intransitive
  3. To seek for game or plunder; to thieve.

    figuratively · intransitive
  4. To transmit via satellite.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Old English bridd Middle English brid English bird From Middle English bird, brid, from Old English bridd (“chick, fledgling, chicken”), of uncertain origin (see Old English bridd for more). Originally from a term used of birds that could not fly (chicks, fledglings, chickens) as opposed to the general Old English term for flying birds, fugol (modern fowl). Gradually replaced fowl as the most common term starting in the 14th century. The "booing/jeering" and "vulgar hand gesture" senses derived from the expression “to give the big bird”, as in “to hiss someone like a goose”, dated in the mid‐18th century.

adj/ˈbɜːd/Australia[ˈbɜ̝ːd]Australia/ˈbɘːd/Australia[ˈbɘːd]Australia
  1. Able to be passed with very little work; having the nature of a bird course.

    Canada · colloquial
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Old English bridd Middle English brid English bird From Middle English bird, brid, from Old English bridd (“chick, fledgling, chicken”), of uncertain origin (see Old English bridd for more). Originally from a term used of birds that could not fly (chicks, fledglings, chickens) as opposed to the general Old English term for flying birds, fugol (modern fowl). Gradually replaced fowl as the most common term starting in the 14th century. The "booing/jeering" and "vulgar hand gesture" senses derived from the expression “to give the big bird”, as in “to hiss someone like a goose”, dated in the mid‐18th century.

noun/ˈbɜːd/Australia[ˈbɜ̝ːd]Australia/ˈbɘːd/Australia[ˈbɘːd]Australia
  1. A prison sentence.

    slang · uncountable
    He’s doing bird.
Where this word comes from

Originally Cockney rhyming slang, shortened from bird-lime for "time".

verb/ˈbɜːd/Australia[ˈbɜ̝ːd]Australia/ˈbɘːd/Australia[ˈbɘːd]Australia
  1. To bring into prison, to roof.

    slang · transitive
Where this word comes from

Originally Cockney rhyming slang, shortened from bird-lime for "time".

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

bird has 4 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

bird studiobird workshello, bird

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.