Phrase guide

birds of a feather

noun · 2 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

People having similar characters, backgrounds, interests, or beliefs.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, plural, plural-only

Examples

  • c1710, Jonathan Swift, "A Conference," lines 11-12, And since we're so near, like birds of a feather, Let's e'en, as they say, set our horses together.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Ellipsis of birds of a feather flock together.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, idiomatic, plural, plural-only

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

21 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Azerbaijani: bir yuvanın quşu — people having similar characters
  • Chinese Mandarin: 同類的人 /同类的人 (tónglèi de rén) — people having similar characters
  • Chinese Mandarin: 一路貨 /一路货 (yīlùhuò) — people having similar characters
  • Finnish: samanlaiset — people having similar characters
  • French: bonnet blanc, blanc bonnet — people having similar characters
  • French: kif-kif — people having similar characters
  • German: Leute vom gleichen Schlag — people having similar characters
  • German: Gleichgesinnte — people having similar characters
  • German: aus demselben Holz geschnitzt — people having similar characters
  • Irish: bráithre aon cheirde — people having similar characters
  • Italian: due gocce d'acqua — people having similar characters
  • Japanese: 同類 (dōrui) — people having similar characters
  • Korean: 동류 (dongnyu) — people having similar characters
  • Polish: ludzie ulepieni z tej samej gliny — people having similar characters
  • Portuguese: farinha do mesmo saco — people having similar characters
  • Romanian: care se aseamănă — people having similar characters
  • Romanian: de aceeași categorie — people having similar characters
  • Spanish: Dios los cría y ellos se juntan — people having similar characters
  • Spanish: tal para cual — people having similar characters
  • Swedish: lika barn — people having similar characters
  • Swedish: kålsupare — people having similar characters