Windsucker
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A horse with the habit of windsucking.
"In a later case a Horse was bought warranted "sound and free from vice," and an action was brought against the vendor on the ground of its being a Crib-biter and Wind-sucker[…]. Veterinary Surgeons were examined who said that the habit of Crib-biting was injurious to Horses; that the air sucked into the stomach of the animal distended it, and impaired its powers of digestion, occasionally to such an extent as greatly to diminish the value of the horse and render it incapable of work."
- 2 Synonym of windfucker.; The common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus). archaic
"At the ſame time (over and above) ſhee thought that, in ſtead of a boye, (which ſhe desired) ſhe was deliverd and brought to bed of one of theſe kiſtrell birds, called a wind-ſucker."
- 3 Synonym of windfucker.; A term of abuse. archaic, derogatory
"Cle[rimont] Did you ever hear ſuch a Wind-ſucker, as this? / Dau[phine] Or ſuch a Rook as the other! that will betray his Maſter to be ſeen. Come, 'tis time we prevented it."
Example
More examples"In a later case a Horse was bought warranted "sound and free from vice," and an action was brought against the vendor on the ground of its being a Crib-biter and Wind-sucker[…]. Veterinary Surgeons were examined who said that the habit of Crib-biting was injurious to Horses; that the air sucked into the stomach of the animal distended it, and impaired its powers of digestion, occasionally to such an extent as greatly to diminish the value of the horse and render it incapable of work."
Etymology
From wind + sucker. Where the bird or term of abuse sense is concerned, some believe the word is a recent bowdlerization of windfucker; however, it appears since at least the 17th century. See the etymology of windfucker.
Related phrases
More for "windsucker"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.