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
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Which bird am I?
any of several wading birds of warm regions, such as Platalea leucorodia (common spoonbill) and Ajaia ajaja (roseate spoonbill), having a long horizontally flattened bill: family Threskiornithidae, order Ciconiiformes
Which bird am I?
any nocturnal flightless New Zealand bird of the genus Apteryx, having a long beak, stout legs, and weakly barbed feathers: order Apterygiformes
Which bird am I?
a common European songbird, Anthus pratensis, with a pale brown speckled plumage: family Motacillidae (pipits and wagtails)
Which bird am I?
a small European songbird, Aegithalos caudatus, with a black, white, and pink plumage and a very long tail: family Paridae (tits)
Which bird am I?
any of various small brightly coloured ground-dwelling tropical birds of the genus Pitta
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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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