cuckoo
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Related to cuckoo: Common Cuckoo
cuck·oo
(ko͞o′ko͞o, ko͝ok′o͞o)n. pl. cuck·oos
1.
a. A grayish bird (Cuculus canorus) of Eurasia and Africa that has a characteristic two-note call and lays its eggs in the nests of birds of other species.
b. Any of various other birds of the family Cuculidae.
2. The call or cry of one of these birds.
3. Slang A foolish or crazy person.
tr.v. cuck·ooed, cuck·oo·ing, cuck·oos
To repeat incessantly, as a cuckoo does its call.
adj. Slang
Lacking in sense; foolish or crazy.
[Middle English cuccu, of imitative origin.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
cuckoo
(ˈkʊkuː)n, pl -oos
1. (Animals) any bird of the family Cuculidae, having pointed wings, a long tail, and zygodactyl feet: order Cuculiformes. Many species, including the European cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), lay their eggs in the nests of other birds and have a two-note call
2. informal an insane or foolish person
adj
informal insane or foolish
interj
an imitation or representation of the call of a cuckoo
vb, -oos, -ooing or -ooed
3. (tr) to repeat over and over
4. (intr) to make the sound imitated by the word cuckoo
[C13: from Old French cucu, of imitative origin; related to German kuckuck, Latin cucūlus, Greek kokkux]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
cuck•oo
(ˈku ku, ˈkʊk u)n., pl. -oos,
v.
adj. n.
1. any of various usu. slim, stout-billed, long-tailed birds of the order Cuculiformes: many species noted for their brood parasitism.
2. a common Eurasian cuckoo, Cuculus canorus, with a monotonously repeated call.
3. the call of this cuckoo.
4. Informal. a crazy or foolish person.
v.t. 5. to repeat monotonously.
adj. 6. Informal. crazy; silly; foolish.
[1200–50; Middle English cuc(c)u, cuccuk(e) (imitative)]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
cuckoo
Past participle: cuckooed
Gerund: cuckooing
Imperative |
---|
cuckoo |
cuckoo |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
Noun | 1. | ![]() |
2. | cuckoo - any of numerous European and North American birds having pointed wings and a long tail cuculiform bird - birds having zygodactyl feet (except for the touracos) Cuculidae, family Cuculidae - includes cuckoo; ani; roadrunner Cuculus canorus, European cuckoo - common cuckoo of Europe having a distinctive two-note call; lays eggs in the nests of other birds black-billed cuckoo, Coccyzus erythropthalmus - North American cuckoo; builds a nest and rears its own young chaparral cock, Geococcyx californianus, roadrunner - speedy largely terrestrial bird found from California and Mexico to Texas ani - black tropical American cuckoo coucal - Old World ground-living cuckoo having a long dagger-like hind claw | |
Verb | 1. | cuckoo - repeat monotonously, like a cuckoo repeats his call |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
cuckoo
nounadjective
Slang. Afflicted with or exhibiting irrationality and mental unsoundness:
brainsick, crazy, daft, demented, disordered, distraught, dotty, insane, lunatic, mad, maniac, maniacal, mentally ill, moonstruck, off, touched, unbalanced, unsound, wrong.
Chiefly British: crackers.
Law: non compos mentis.
Idioms: around the bend, crazy as a loon, mad as a hatter, not all there, nutty as a fruitcake, off one's head, off one's rocker, of unsound mind, out of one's mind, sick in the head, stark raving mad.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Spanish / Español
cuckoo
[ˈkʊkuː]Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
cuckoo
(ˈkukuː) – plural ˈcuckoos – noun a bird, named after its call, which lays eggs in the nests of other birds. cuco
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
cuckoo
→ cuclilloMultilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009