noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   Any of various medium-sized nocturnal birds, of the family Caprimulgidae from the order Caprimulgiformes, that feed predominantly on moths and other large flying insects.
2. 2
   mainly crepuscular or nocturnal nonpasserine birds with mottled greyish-brown plumage and large eyes; feed on insects wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

goatsuckerbullbatbullbatcaprimulgidevejargoatsucker

Etymology

From night + jar (“a discordant sound”), due to the bird's harsh call.

Related phrases

Eurasian nightjarEuropean nightjarIndian nightjarowlet-nightjar

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