Shrike

//ʃɹaɪk// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Any of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae which are known for their habit of catching other birds and small animals and impaling the uneaten portions of their bodies on thorns.
  2. 2
    any of numerous Old World birds having a strong hooked bill that feed on smaller animals wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
butcherbirdbutcherbirdmagpie

Example

More examples

"The shrike can't harm us anymore."

Etymology

From Middle English *schrike, *schryke, from Old English sċrīc (“shrike, thrush”), from the same root as shriek and screech, named after the bird's cry. Compare Icelandic skríkja (“shrieker, shrike”), Swedish skrika (“jay”).

Related phrases

African long-tailed shrikebrown shrikebush shrikecrow-shrikecuckoo shrikedrongo shrikeflycatcher-shrikegreat grey shrikegreat northern shrikeisabelline shrikelesser grey shrikeloggerhead shrike

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