ostrich

CEFRB1

/ˈɒs.tɹɪt͡ʃ/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A very large bird that cannot fly and runs fast.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    The rhea.

Examples

  • An ostrich does not fly through the air.

  • The pigeon and the ostrich are both birds; one can fly and the other cannot.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈɒs.tɹɪd͡ʒ/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A large flightless bird of the order Struthioniformes.

  2. The most widespread species of that order, known as the common ostrich (Struthio camelus).

  3. The hypothetical completion of a hole five strokes under par (a quintuple birdie, quadruple eagle, triple albatross, or double condor).

More examples

In context

  • Could a Taff'ta ſcarf, a long Eſtridge vvhing, / A ſtiffe Iron Doublet, and a Brazeel Pole / Tempt thee from Cambrick ſheets, fine active Thighs, / From Caudles vvhere the precious Amber ſvvims?

  • The Lengua Indians of the Gran Chaco love to hunt the ostrich

  • The San Juan market is Mexico City's most famous deli of exotic meats, where an adventurous shopper can hunt down hard-to-find critters such as ostrich, wild boar and crocodile.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The blank is a large flightless bird that lives in Africa and can run very fast.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English ostrich, ostriche, ostryche, ostrige, borrowed from Anglo-Norman ostrige and Old French ostruce, from Vulgar Latin *austruthio, from Latin avis (“bird”) + strūthiō (“ostrich”), from Ancient Greek στρουθίων (strouthíōn), or shortened from strūthiocamēlus, from Ancient Greek στρουθοκᾰ́μηλος (strouthokắmēlos), from στρουθός (strouthós, “sparrow”) + κάμηλος (kámēlos, “camel”). Compare Spanish avestruz and Portuguese avestruz.