What does "hornbill" mean?

Any of various birds of the family Bucerotidae, with bills resembling a cow's horns. Many species have a casque above the bill, and many imprison their young in a tree.

Hornbill

//ˈhɔːn.bɪl// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
Any of various birds of the family Bucerotidae, with bills resembling a cow's horns. Many species have a casque above the bill, and many imprison their young in a tree.
"I saw what they were, hornbills, white head with a black streak of feather on top, a long grey tail, and a huge red beak that curved down, bigger than his head."
2
bird of tropical Africa and Asia having a very large bill surmounted by a bony protuberance; related to kingfishers wordnet

Example

More examples

"The hornbill was in the guava tree."

Etymology

From horn + bill.

More for "hornbill"

Synonyms Sentences Pronunciation Translate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonyms See usage examples Check pronunciation Browse writing guides

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