mockingbird

[ mok-ing-burd ]

noun

1. any of several gray, black, and white songbirds of the genus Mimus, especially M. polyglottos, of the U.S. and Mexico, noted for their ability to mimic the songs of other birds.
2. any of various related or similar birds, as Melanotis caerulescens blue mockingbird, of Mexico.

mockingbird

/ ˈmɒkɪŋˌbɜːd /

noun

1. any American songbird of the family Mimidae, having a long tail and grey plumage: noted for their ability to mimic the song of other birds
2. a small scrub bird, Atrichornis rufescens , noted for its mimicry

Word History and Origins

Origin of mockingbird¹

1670–80, Americanism; mocking ( def ) + bird

Example Sentences

Marisa Turesky from Mockingbird Analytics conducted a presentation on successful monetary reparations in U.S. cities — such as Evanston, Ill., which provided a $25,000 payment from a cannabis sales tax to Black residents who experienced housing discrimination between 1919 to 1969.

From Los Angeles Times

The follow-up to last year’s half-country/half-rock “The Mockingbird & the Crow,” “Quit!!” evokes the heroes of Hardy’s adolescence in small-town Mississippi, where MTV introduced him not only to Limp Bizkit but to Puddle of Mudd and Linkin Park.

From Los Angeles Times

“I completely believe there has been a reduction but I do not believe it is as high as 40%,” said Natalie Lente, executive director of The Mockingbird Society, a youth homelessness advocacy organization.

From Seattle Times

When Ady and Sanite are separated, Ady meets Lenore, proprietress of the Mockingbird Inn.

From Los Angeles Times

In 2020, the Burbank Unified School District took some books off required reading lists, such as Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” and Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” after parents complained that the books were racist.

From Los Angeles Times