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

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

A poor fisherman in a Turkish village was retrieving his net from a lake when he found that a white stork had alighted on his boat.

From New York Times

The team found that while young storks took their time exploring new places during migration, their migrations become faster as they age.

From Science Daily

In today’s news roundup, Ex-President Barack Obama delivers two graduation speeches, several women over the age of 100 recover from the coronavirus, and the United Kingdom gets its first white stork chicks in 600 years.

From NewsForKids.net