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Definition of killdeer

killdeer

/ˈkɪl.dɪər/
kill · deer
Plural:killdeers
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killdeer Lexical Profile

killdeer Game Scores & Validity

• noun

1

North American A medium-sized plover (Charadrius vociferus) native to the Americas, characterized by two distinct black breast bands, a loud, piercing call, and a famous behavior of feigning a broken wing to distract predators away from its nest.

Example

"While walking across the rocky pasture, we watched a killdeer perform a dramatic broken-wing display to draw our attention away from its camouflaged eggs."

Synonyms
View all synonyms for killdeer

• Nearby Words

kikuzato brook snake
kill
killable
killdeer
killer
killer whale
killifish

Word Origin & Etymology

Early 18th century: named imitatively for its loud, piercing, and repetitive call, which sounds like 'kill-deer'.

Usage Trend

Historical frequency of usage in published text.

180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer

Cite this Entry

Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Killdeer. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Nov 1, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/killdeer
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