bə:d n. 1 a feathered
vertebrate with a beak, with
two wings
and two
feet, egg-laying and usu.
able to fly. 2 a game-bird. 3
Brit. sl. a
young woman. 4 colloq. a
person (a
wily old bird). 5 sl. a a
prison. b rhymingsl. a prison
sentence (short
for birdlime = time). øbird-bath a
basin in a
garden etc. with
water for birds to
bathe in. bird-call 1 a bird's
natural call. 2 an
instrument imitating
this. bird
cherry a
wild cherry Prunus padus. bird-fancier a person
who knows
about, collects, breeds, or deals in, birds. a bird in
the hand something secured or
certain. the bird is (or has)
flown the
prisoner, quarry,
etc.,
has escaped. bird(or birds'-) nesting
hunting for birds' nests, usu. to
get eggs. bird of
paradise any bird of the
family Paradiseidae found
chiefly in
New Guinea, the males having
very beautiful brilliantly
coloured plumage. bird of passage 1 a
migrant. 2 any
transient visitor. bird of
prey see PREY. bird
sanctuary an
area where birds are protected and encouraged to
breed. the birds and the bees euphem.
sexual activity and
reproduction. bird's-eye --n. 1 any of
several plants having
small bright round flowers,
such as the
germander speedwell. 2 a
pattern with
many small spots. --adj. of or having small bright round flowers (bird's-eye primrose). bird's-eye
view a
general view
from above. bird's-foot (pl. bird's-foots) any
plant like the
foot of a bird,
esp. of the
genus Lotus, having claw-shaped pods. bird's
nest soup soup
made (esp. in
Chinese cookery) from the
dried gelatinous coating of the nests of swifts and
other birds. birds of a
feather people of like
character. bird-strike a
collision between a bird and an
aircraft. bird
table a raised
platform on
which food for birds is placed. bird-watcher a person who observes birds in
their natural
surroundings. bird-watching this
occupation. for (or
strictly for) the birds colloq.
trivial,
uninteresting. get the bird sl. 1 be dismissed. 2 be hissed at or booed. like a bird
without difficulty or hesitation. a
little bird an
unnamed informant. [OE brid, of unkn. orig.]
