magpie
either of two corvine birds, Pica pica(black-billed magpie ), of Eurasia and North America, or P. nuttalli(yellow-billed magpie ), of California, having long, graduated tails, black-and-white plumage, and noisy, mischievous habits.
any of several related corvine birds.
any of several black-and-white birds not related to the true magpies, as Gymnorhina tibicen, of Australia.
an incessantly talkative person; noisy chatterer; chatterbox.
a person who collects or hoards things, especially indiscriminately.
Western U.S. a black-and-white cow or steer, as a Holstein.
Origin of magpie
1Words Nearby magpie
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use magpie in a sentence
It also often explores the relationships that corvids—a family of birds including crows, magpies, and ravens—develop with human beings.
“I was sick of my life as it was,” magpie remembers of the first half of the last decade.
Meet the Couple Who Just Set 5 Long-Distance Hiking Records | awise | January 7, 2022 | Outside OnlineShe’s depressed and isolating herself from her loved ones, but things start to change for the better once an injured baby magpie named Penguin is fatefully brought into her life.
The True Story Behind the New Netflix Film Penguin Bloom | Annabel Gutterman | January 27, 2021 | TimeTelevision is a magpie, and it will take back to its stuffed nest whatever shiny things it can find.
Instead, he was more of a magpie, listening to what came before and incorporating it into his own inimitable music.
J.J. Cale, Dead at 74, Was a Songwriter Beyond Compare | Malcolm Jones | July 30, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Turn Up The Trustafarian Chic: As Tory Burch said of her collection, it's "American prep meets magpie traveler."
6 Lessons From The Spring Runways: New York Fashion Week Spring Summer 2013 | Isabel Wilkinson, Lizzie Crocker | September 14, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTBut the latter caught him by the coat sleeve and held on while she chattered like a magpie to the young college man.
The Campfire Girls of Roselawn | Margaret PenroseCould that be the wild beasts of which the magpie had warned him?
Fifty-Two Stories For Girls | Various"She doesn't believe you, anyhow," said Lionel to the magpie.
Fifty-Two Stories For Girls | VariousThe meadowlark was given a pleasing voice so that his songs would make the magpie ashamed.
Prairie Smoke (Second Edition, Revised) | Melvin Randolph GilmoreHarakka, the magpie, sitting on her nest among her fledglings began to feel nervous.
Mighty Mikko | Parker Fillmore
British Dictionary definitions for magpie
/ (ˈmæɡˌpaɪ) /
any of various passerine birds of the genus Pica, esp P. pica, having a black-and-white plumage, long tail, and a chattering call: family Corvidae (crows, etc)
any of various similar birds of the Australian family Cracticidae: See also butcherbird (def. 2)
any of various other similar or related birds
(often capital) a variety of domestic fancy pigeon typically having black-and-white markings
British a person who hoards small objects
a person who chatters
the outmost ring but one on a target
a shot that hits this ring
Origin of magpie
1Collins 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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