Definition of 'cuckoo'
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Word Frequency
cuckoo in British English
nounWord forms: plural -oos
1.
adjective
3. informal
irrational or foolish
exclamation
4.
an imitation or representation of the call of a cuckoo
verbWord forms: -oos, -ooing, -ooed
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin
C13: from Old French cucu, of imitative origin; related to German kuckuck, Latin cucūlus, Greek kokkuxWord Frequency
cuckoo in American English
(ˈkuːkuː, ˈkukuː) (noun plural -oos, verb -ooed, -ooing)
noun
1.
a common European bird, Cuculus canorus, of the family Cuculidae, noted for its characteristic call and its brood parasitism
2.
any of several other birds of the family Cuculidae
3.
the call of the cuckoo, or an imitation of it
transitive verb
6.
to repeat monotonously
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Word origin
[1200–50; ME cuc(c)u, cuccuk(e) (imit.); cf. L cucūlus, F coucou, G Kuckuk, D koekoek, ModGk koûko]Examples of 'cuckoo' in a sentence
cuckoo
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cuckoo
birdQuick word challenge
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Question: 1
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Which bird am I?
any Old World tropical songbird of the family Campephagidae, typically having a strong notched bill, long rounded tail, and pointed wings
Which bird am I?
any of several S Asian pheasants of the genus Lophophorus, the males of which have a brilliantly coloured plumage
Which bird am I?
any bird of the family Pteroclididae, of dry regions of the Old World, having very short feet, a short bill, and long pointed wings and tail: order Columbiformes
Which bird am I?
a N European finch, Acanthis flavirostris, with a brown streaked plumage
Which bird am I?
an Antarctic penguin, Aptenodytes forsteri, with orange-yellow patches on the neck: the largest penguin, reaching a height of 1.3 m (4 ft)
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In other languages
cuckoo
British English: cuckoo
/ˈkʊkuː/ NOUN
A cuckoo is a grey bird which makes an easily recognizable sound consisting of two quick notes.
- American English: cuckoo /ˈkʊku, ˈkuku/
- Arabic: وَقْواق
- Brazilian Portuguese: cuco
- Chinese: 杜鹃
- Croatian: kukavica
- Czech: kukačka
- Danish: gøg
- Dutch: koekoek
- European Spanish: cuclillo
- Finnish: käki
- French: coucou
- German: Kuckuck
- Greek: κούκος
- Italian: cuculo
- Japanese: カッコウ
- Korean: 뻐꾸기
- Norwegian: gjøk
- Polish: kukułka
- European Portuguese: cuco
- Romanian: cuc
- Russian: кукушка
- Latin American Spanish: cuclillo
- Swedish: gök
- Thai: นกคุกคู
- Turkish: guguk kuşu
- Ukrainian: зозуля
- Vietnamese: chim cu
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Definition of cuckoo from the Collins English Dictionary
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