noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/ˈbɛvi/
Australia:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɛvi
homophone: bevvy
CMU ARPABET:B EH1 V IY0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A group of animals, especially quail or other birds.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: collective
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A group, especially a large group, and especially a group of attractive girls or women.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: collective
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
Alternative form of bevvy.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of, alternative
Qualifier: Liverpool
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
a flock of birds (especially when gathered close together on the ground)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
we were visited at breakfast by a bevy of excited ducks
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: flock
5
noun
Meaning 5
a large gathering of people of a particular type
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
he was surrounded by a bevy of beauties in bathing attire
a bevy of young beach boys swarmed around him
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: gathering, assemblage
History
Etymology
From Middle English bevey, of uncertain origin, possibly Anglo-Norman.
See bevvy.
Across languages
Translations
41 source translations are retained for this English entry.