rooster
rooster Lexical Profile
rooster Game Scores & Validity
• noun
North American An adult male domestic chicken, known for its distinct crowing sound, prominent comb, and territorial behavior.
"The rooster woke the entire farm at dawn with his loud crowing."
An adult male of various other bird species, particularly gallinaceous birds such as the pheasant, quail, or grouse.
"The hunters spotted a pheasant rooster displaying his brightly colored plumage in the tall grass."
A confident, boastful, or aggressively dominant person, typically a man who attempts to assert authority over others.
"He strutted around the office like a rooster, trying to intimidate the junior employees."
Word Nuance & Usage
In North American English, 'rooster' is the standard term for a male chicken, originally emerging as a puritanical euphemism to avoid the vulgar connotations of the British English equivalent 'cock'.
• Rhymes for rooster
Word Origin & Etymology
Late 18th century (originally US): from the verb 'roost' + '-er', literally meaning 'the bird that roosts'. It was coined in America as a polite alternative to 'cock'.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.