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Definition of house wren
house wren
Plural:house wrens
house wren Lexical Profile
CEFR
C1
Grade
6
Tier
3
Usage
Rare
• noun
1
A small, highly energetic, brown songbird (Troglodytes aedon) native to the Americas, characterized by its loud, bubbling song and its tendency to build twig nests in tree cavities or birdhouses near human habitations.
Example
"We set up a small wooden nesting box in the backyard and were soon rewarded by the cheerful, chattering song of a resident house wren."
Synonyms
View all synonyms for house wren• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived from the bird's frequent habit of nesting in birdhouses, crevices in buildings, and other cavities in close proximity to human habitation, combined with 'wren' (from Old English 'wrenna').
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.
180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer
Cite this Entry
Wordmom. (2026). Definition of House wren. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Oct 14, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/house wren