kookaburra
Americannoun
noun
-
Also called: laughing jackass. a large arboreal Australian kingfisher, Dacelo novaeguineae (or gigas ), with a cackling cry
-
Also called: blue-winged kookaburra. a related smaller bird D. Leachii , of tropical Australia and New Guinea
Etymology
Origin of kookaburra
First recorded in 1885–90, kookaburra is from the Wiradjuri word gugubarra (imitative)
Vocabulary lists containing kookaburra
Australia and New Zealand - Introductory
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Australia and New Zealand - Middle School and High School
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Australians are well accustomed to swooping birds - there's plovers, noisy miners and even the kookaburra.
From BBC • Sep. 28, 2023
In a country featuring some unique native fauna, the animal emblems of New South Wales are the platypus and kookaburra.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 20, 2023
“The laughing kookaburra is another standard example,” Jody wrote.
From Washington Post • Sep. 16, 2019
We watched in beautiful clarity as a fox, and then a goshawk, and then a kookaburra fed on the slowly deflating body of the kangaroo.
From The New Yorker • Jun. 25, 2018
She tossed the last piece of cake to an inquisitive kookaburra who had been watching the meal optimistically, with bright eyes and nodding head.
From Captivity by Eyles, M. Leonora
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
