Phrase guide

bower bird

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

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Any bird of the Australasian family Ptilonorhynchidae noted for building display structures (bowers) and decorating them with bright objects such as shells, glass, flowers, etc.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A person who collects objects for display.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From bower + bird.

Across languages

Translations

13 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: беседкова птица (besedkova ptica) — Australasian bird
  • Catalan: jardiner — Australasian bird
  • Czech: lemčík — Australasian bird
  • Finnish: lavastaja — Australasian bird
  • French: jardinier — Australasian bird
  • German: Laubenvogel — Australasian bird
  • Hebrew: סֻכִּי (sukkí) — Australasian bird
  • Italian: uccello giardiniere — Australasian bird
  • Japanese: 庭師鳥 (niwashi-dori) — Australasian bird
  • Polish: altannik — Australasian bird
  • Russian: шала́шник (šalášnik) — Australasian bird
  • Serbo-Croatian: вртларица (vrtlarica) — Australasian bird
  • Spanish: pergolero — Australasian bird