Standard Lemma guide

birdseed

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.

  • General-American: /ˈbɝdˌsid/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: B ER1 D S IY2 D Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Seed, usually constituting a mixture from several species of plant, set out as food for birds.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Examples

  • If you set out birdseed in the winter, cardinals will be encouraged to overwinter.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

food given to birds; usually mixed seeds

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: bird feed, bird food

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: feed, provender

Narrower terms: canary seed

History

Etymology

From bird + seed.

Across languages

Translations

11 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Danish: fuglefrø — seed set out as food for birds
  • Estonian: linnutoit — seed set out as food for birds
  • Finnish: linnunsiemen — seed set out as food for birds
  • French: nourriture pour oiseaux — seed set out as food for birds
  • German: Vogelfutter — seed set out as food for birds
  • Hungarian: madáreledel — seed set out as food for birds
  • Italian: becchime — seed set out as food for birds
  • Kyrgyz: куш жеми (kuş jemi) — seed set out as food for birds
  • Polish: karma — seed set out as food for birds
  • Swedish: fågelfrö — seed set out as food for birds
  • Turkish: kuş yemi — seed set out as food for birds