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View synonyms for parrot

parrot

[ par-uht ]

noun

  1. any of numerous hook-billed, often brilliantly colored birds of the order Psittaciformes, as the cockatoo, lory, macaw, or parakeet, having the ability to mimic speech and often kept as pets.
  2. a person who, without thought or understanding, merely repeats the words or imitates the actions of another.


verb (used with object)

  1. to repeat or imitate without thought or understanding.
  2. to teach to repeat or imitate in such a fashion.

parrot

/ ˈpærət /

noun

  1. any bird of the tropical and subtropical order Psittaciformes, having a short hooked bill, compact body, bright plumage, and an ability to mimic sounds psittacine
  2. a person who repeats or imitates the words or actions of another unintelligently
  3. sick as a parrot facetious.
    extremely disappointed
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


verb

  1. tr to repeat or imitate mechanically without understanding
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈparrotry, noun
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Other Words From

  • parrot·like adjective
  • parrot·y adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of parrot1

1515–25; apparently < Middle French P ( i ) errot, diminutive of Pierre ( parakeet ), though a comparable sense of the French word is not known until the 18th century
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Word History and Origins

Origin of parrot1

C16: probably from French paroquet; see parakeet
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Example Sentences

Of course, we might find it easier to work with parrots or dogs, but whales, by their sheer size, their commanding voices, and surprising grace elicit a kind of attention that smaller lifeforms can’t.

In South America, palm swifts snatch feathers from flying pigeons and parrots — a behavior already known as kleptoptily.

Pelicans, woodpeckers, and parrots have very different diets that require a beak adapted to the job.

Look at most of the smartest animals on the planet, like monkeys, elephants, parrots, and hyenas, and you’ll see that they live in complex, rather than simple, social systems.

So if a parrot is able to tell us the color of different objects, that does not necessarily show that the parrot understands the meanings of those words.

As he describes why he plans to spend the rest of his days in Kisangani, a pet parrot gnaws on his Rolex.

Oliver bares his soul as he highlights comments in which he is compared to a parrot and knocked for mocking an unremarkable soda.

There's the parrot, wings wrapped around himself, shivering.

Finally the guy gets fed up and throws the parrot in the freezer to punish him.

Everyone inside the cavernous O2 arena in East London knew exactly what his complaint would be: This was a Dead Parrot.

He stooped to knot up his long, wet hair, and the parrot fluttered to his shoulder.

Hephzibah seldom spoke; perhaps, like the parrot in the story, she thought the more.

All the parrot tribe in Brazil is beautiful: but neither parrots nor parroquets talk well.

He has been teasing my parrot in its cage, and has plucked so many of its feathers that it now looks like a beaked rat.

One large gray parrot had learned her name, and would call out, "Good-morning, Susan!"

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