curlew
noun
cur·lew
| \ ˈkər-(ˌ)lü
, ˈkərl-(ˌ)yü
\
, ˈkərl-(ˌ)yü
\
plural curlews
or curlew
Definition of curlew
: any of various largely brownish chiefly migratory birds (especially genus Numenius) having long legs and a long slender down-curved bill and related to the sandpipers and snipes
Examples of curlew in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
It’s more than people responding to curlews attacking them, defending their young. — Kevin Davenport, idahostatesman, "Why are curlews declining in Idaho? Turns out, humans are their most deadly predator.," 18 June 2018 In Finland, for example, the Northern lapwing and Eurasian curlew have usually built their ground nests on barley fields after farmers have sown their crops in the spring. — Author: Livia Albeck Ripka, Brad Plumer, Anchorage Daily News, "5 plants and animals utterly confused by climate change," 10 Apr. 2018 In Finland, for example, the Northern lapwing and Eurasian curlew have usually built their ground nests on barley fields after farmers have sown their crops in the spring. — Author: Livia Albeck Ripka, Brad Plumer, Anchorage Daily News, "5 plants and animals utterly confused by climate change," 10 Apr. 2018 In Finland, for example, the Northern lapwing and Eurasian curlew have usually built their ground nests on barley fields after farmers have sown their crops in the spring. — Author: Livia Albeck Ripka, Brad Plumer, Anchorage Daily News, "5 plants and animals utterly confused by climate change," 10 Apr. 2018 In Finland, for example, the Northern lapwing and Eurasian curlew have usually built their ground nests on barley fields after farmers have sown their crops in the spring. — Author: Livia Albeck Ripka, Brad Plumer, Anchorage Daily News, "5 plants and animals utterly confused by climate change," 10 Apr. 2018 In Finland, for example, the Northern lapwing and Eurasian curlew have usually built their ground nests on barley fields after farmers have sown their crops in the spring. — Author: Livia Albeck Ripka, Brad Plumer, Anchorage Daily News, "5 plants and animals utterly confused by climate change," 10 Apr. 2018 In Finland, for example, the Northern lapwing and Eurasian curlew have usually built their ground nests on barley fields after farmers have sown their crops in the spring. — Author: Livia Albeck Ripka, Brad Plumer, Anchorage Daily News, "5 plants and animals utterly confused by climate change," 10 Apr. 2018 The big curlews were having a crab feast, their long, curved bills perfectly suited to extract the thumb-size fiddlers from their similarly curved holes. — Shannon Tompkins, Houston Chronicle, "Bay food chain comes to life with tide change," 14 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'curlew.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for curlew
curlew
noun
English Language Learners Definition of curlew
: a large brown bird with long legs and a long thin bill that lives near the water
See the full definition for curlew in the English Language Learners Dictionary
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