stork

American  

[stawrk] / stɔrk /

noun

plural

storks,

plural

stork

1. any of several wading birds of the family Ciconiidae, having long legs and a long neck and bill.

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.

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stork British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• storklike adjective

Etymology

Origin of stork

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

Explanation

A stork is a large water bird with long legs, a big bill, and a legendary reputation for leaving babies on doorsteps. Real storks don't deliver babies; they mostly stand around in marshes all day. Myths going back to ancient European folklore describe storks delivering infants to their expectant parents. In Europe, it was considered good luck if a stork made a nest on a house, and that became a handy answer to questions about where babies come from: The stork brought it! Sometimes the common birthmarks on the backs of babies' heads are even called "stork bites."

Example Sentences

The researchers in this study also found large footprints from a bird, likely from the giant marabou stork lineage, according to the study.

From Salon • Nov. 29, 2024

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

From Science Daily • Apr. 17, 2024

Now, thanks to a 24-hour webcam set up by the local government, stork lovers everywhere can check in on Yaren and his partner, Nazli, or “coquette” in Turkish.

From New York Times • Mar. 30, 2024

Cuomo: He’d sit in the chair with his knees folded up to his chest, like a giant stork.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2024

Eva thought that children grew on trees, like apples, and that the stork plucked them off the tree when they were ripe and brought them to the mothers.

From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank