puffin
noun
puf·fin
| \ ˈpə-fən
\
\
Definition of puffin
: any of several seabirds (genera Fratercula and Lunda) of the northern hemisphere having a short neck and a deep grooved parti-colored laterally compressed bill
Illustration of puffin
Examples of puffin in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The yet-unnamed tufted puffin chick hatched July 31. — Kristi Belcamino, Twin Cities, "Como Zoo celebrates a bouncing baby puffin, its first," 15 Aug. 2019 Sebastian Velasquez, the youth category winner, zoomed in on a single horned puffin preening its feathers at the Alaska Sea Life Center. — Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, "Audubon Photography Award Winners Show the Breathtaking Beauty of Wild Birds," 16 July 2019 The National Audubon Society is getting involved in a lawsuit over the future of a national monument in the ocean off New England because of the area’s importance to seabirds, especially colorfully beaked puffins. — Washington Post, "Audubon intervenes to protect ocean monument for puffins," 15 June 2019 Among the winning shots is a puffin picture from a young photographer and a shocking photo of a bald eagle picking up a rabbit and a fox. — Kelli Bender, PEOPLE.com, "The 2019 Audubon Photography Award Winners Offer Stunning Look at the World of Birds," 15 July 2019 Here, the northern fur seals number more than half a million strong, and avian species include horned and tufted puffins, red-legged kittiwakes, and crested auklets. — National Geographic, "Fun Facts About the Bering and Chukchi Seas," 26 Mar. 2019 One of those places is Oregon’s Cannon Beach, where a puffin stands outside a nesting burrow near the top of Haystack Rock. — Morning Brief, The Seattle Times, "Puffins are a dwindling treasure in Cannon Beach, plus Costco fans try to #SaveThePolishDog | Thursday Morning Brief, July 12," 12 July 2018 Photographers flock to the island for pictures of the puffins, who nest there each year. — Katherine Lam, Fox News, "Photographers on Skomer Island are crushing puffins to death while trying to take pictures, wardens say," 31 July 2018 Consider the evening excursion to Thulla Islet, home to colonies of puffins and seals. — Brigid Mander, WSJ, "How to Earn Your Guinness in Dublin," 2 Aug. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'puffin.' 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 puffin
puffin
noun
English Language Learners Definition of puffin
: a black-and-white seabird that lives in the north Atlantic and has a large, colorful bill
See the full definition for puffin in the English Language Learners Dictionary
puffin
noun
puf·fin
| \ ˈpə-fən
\
\
Kids Definition of puffin
: a black-and-white seabird that has a short thick neck and a large bill marked with several colors
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