BLACKBIRD

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does blackbird mean? 

• BLACKBIRD (noun)
  The noun BLACKBIRD has 2 senses:

1. any bird of the family Icteridae whose male is black or predominantly black

2. common black European thrush

  Familiarity information: BLACKBIRD used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BLACKBIRD (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any bird of the family Icteridae whose male is black or predominantly black

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

blackbird; New World blackbird

Hypernyms ("blackbird" is a kind of...):

American oriole; New World oriole; oriole (American songbird; male is black and orange or yellow)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "blackbird"):

crow blackbird; grackle (long-tailed American blackbird having iridescent black plumage)

Euphagus carilonus; rusty blackbird; rusty grackle (North American blackbird whose bluish-black plumage is rusty-edged in the fall)

cowbird (North American blackbird that follows cattle and lays eggs in other birds' nests)

Agelaius phoeniceus; red-winged blackbird; redwing (North American blackbird with scarlet patches on the wings)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Common black European thrush

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

blackbird; European blackbird; merl; merle; ousel; ouzel; Turdus merula

Hypernyms ("blackbird" is a kind of...):

thrush (songbirds characteristically having brownish upper plumage with a spotted breast)

Holonyms ("blackbird" is a member of...):

genus Turdus; Turdus (type genus of the Turdidae)

 Context examples 

It was joyful to hear the merry whistle of blackbirds as they darted from one clump of greenery to the other.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I found that the sparrow uttered none but harsh notes, whilst those of the blackbird and thrush were sweet and enticing.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

There was a long pause, while a blackbird sung blithely on the willow by the river, and the tall grass rustled in the wind.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Suddenly some one passed below, whistling like an operatic blackbird, and a voice called out, "All serene! Coming in tonight."

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)