noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   Either of two species of fast-running bird in the genus Geococcyx of the cuckoo family native to North and Central America, the lesser roadrunner (Geococcyx velox) and, especially, the greater roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus).
2. 2
   speedy largely terrestrial bird found from California and Mexico to Texas wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

chaparral cockchaparral birdchaparral hengeococcyx californianuspaisano

Example

More examples

"The roadrunner is a bird also known as the "Chaparral Cock" in Texas."

Etymology

From road + runner, probably a calque of Spanish correcaminos (“roadrunner”), from correr (“to run”) + caminos (“roads”).

Related phrases

greater roadrunnerlesser roadrunner

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