stork

[ stawrk ]

noun

, plural storks, (especially collectively) stork.

1. any of several wading birds of the family Ciconiidae, having long legs and a long neck and bill. Compare adjutant stork, jabiru, marabou ( def 1 ), white stork, wood ibis.
2. the stork, this bird as the mythical or symbolic deliverer of a new baby:

   My brother and his wife are expecting the stork in July.

stork

/ stɔːk /

noun

1. any large wading bird of the family Ciconiidae, chiefly of warm regions of the Old World, having very long legs and a long stout pointed bill, and typically having a white-and-black plumage: order Ciconiiformes
2. sometimes capital a variety of domestic fancy pigeon resembling the fairy swallow

Other Words From

• storklike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of stork¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English storc; cognate with German Storch, Old Norse storkr; akin to stark

Word History and Origins

Origin of stork¹

Old English storc; related to Old High German storah, Old Norse storkr, Old English stearc stiff; from the stiff appearance of its legs; see stark

Example Sentences

Eric Schmidt, who of course you’ll remember was the former CEO of Google, quietly founded a secretive military drone company called White Stork.

From New York Times

So I feel good on one hand that I’ve never heard of White Stork and that it does not appear to be like a major player in defense AI.

From New York Times

You know, Kevin, when I was growing up, a white stork was a symbol of someone bringing a baby to your front doorstep.

From New York Times

With long legs and large wings, the white stork is a prominent star of the pageant that is animal migration.

From Science Daily

"Rather, it gives us a probability, telling us whether a stork's route would likely put it in the path of other storks."

From Science Daily