PETREL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does petrel mean? 

• PETREL (noun)
  The noun PETREL has 1 sense:

1. relatively small long-winged tube-nosed bird that flies far from land

  Familiarity information: PETREL used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PETREL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Relatively small long-winged tube-nosed bird that flies far from land

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

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

oceanic bird; pelagic bird (bird of the open seas)

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

Procellaria aequinoctialis; white-chinned petrel (large black petrel of southern seas having a white mark on the chin)

giant fulmar; giant petrel; Macronectes giganteus (large brownish petrel chiefly of Antarctic seas)

fulmar; fulmar petrel; Fulmarus glacialis (heavy short-tailed oceanic bird of polar regions)

shearwater (long-winged oceanic bird that in flight skims close to the waves)

storm petrel (any of various small petrels having dark plumage with paler underparts)

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

family Procellariidae; Procellariidae (petrels; fulmars; shearwaters)

 Context examples 

I am afraid, my dear Colonel, that you must regret the hour that you took in such a stormy petrel as I am.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“You’ve got something better, I fancy. You are the stormy petrel of crime, Watson. What is it?”

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)