name, noun, slang ·3 syllables ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A bird of the family Cacatuidae with a curved beak and a zygodactyl foot.

   "We saw some cockatoos in the aviary."

2. 2
   white or light-colored crested parrot of the Australian region; often kept as cage birds wordnet
3. 3
   A lookout posted during a two-up game, when gambling was illegal. obsolete, slang

Proper Noun

1. 1
   A town in the Shire of Cardinia, central eastern Victoria, Australia

Synonyms

All synonyms

cockycockymagpie

Example

More examples

"The cockatiel, a member of the cockatoo family endemic to Australia, makes an excellent household pet."

Etymology

From Dutch kaketoe, borrowed from Malay kakaktua, kakatua. Spelling influenced by cock.

Related phrases

Goffin's cockatooLeadbeater's cockatooMajor Mitchell's cockatoobare-eyed cockatooblack cockatooblood-stained cockatoocasuarina cockatoocockatoo applecockatoo farmercockatoo grasscockatoo parrotgang-gang cockatoo

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.