Killdeer
//ˈkɪldɪɹ// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A North American plover (Charadrius vociferus) with a distinctive cry and territorial behavior that includes feigning injury to attract predators and spare the young in the nest.
"A kill-deer, flying so low as to dip its wings, ever and anon alighted on the margin, its stilt-like legs half submerged as it ran hither and thither, now and then bending to dig in the sand with its long slender bill."
- 2 American plover of inland waters and fields having a distinctive cry wordnet
Example
More examples"A kill-deer, flying so low as to dip its wings, ever and anon alighted on the margin, its stilt-like legs half submerged as it ran hither and thither, now and then bending to dig in the sand with its long slender bill."
Etymology
Imitative of the bird's call.
Related phrases
More for "killdeer"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.