cuckoo
cuckoos; cuckooing; cuckooed
A cuckoo is a type of long-tailed bird that's known for laying its eggs in the nests of other birds. In the summer, you're most likely to see cuckoos in various parts of Europe.
The famous German cuckoo clock is named for the cuckoo bird, and the cuckoo sound the clock makes each hour imitates the call of the cuckoo. To make this call is also to cuckoo. Informally, you might refer to eccentric or crazy people or situations as cuckoo. Though this informal meaning is credited to American English, the word has been used to mean "stupid person" since at least the 1580s.
Definitions of cuckoo
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any of numerous European and North American birds having pointed wings and a long tail
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types:
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Cuculus canorus, European cuckoo
common cuckoo of Europe having a distinctive two-note call; lays eggs in the nests of other birds
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Coccyzus erythropthalmus, black-billed cuckoo
North American cuckoo; builds a nest and rears its own young
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Geococcyx californianus, chaparral cock, roadrunner
speedy largely terrestrial bird found from California and Mexico to Texas
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ani
black tropical American cuckoo
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coucal
Old World ground-living cuckoo having a long dagger-like hind claw
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Centropus sinensis, crow pheasant
common coucal of India and China
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Centropus phasianinus, pheasant coucal, pheasant cuckoo
Australian bird with a tail like a pheasant
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type of:
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cuculiform bird
birds having zygodactyl feet (except for the touracos)
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repeat monotonously, like a cuckoo repeats his call
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a person who is an incompetent fool
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘cuckoo'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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