Standard Lemma guide

cuckoo

adj · name · noun · verb · 16 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.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈkʊkuː/
  • British, Southern, Standard: /ˈkɵkʉw/
  • US: /ˈkuku/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Northern-Ireland, Scotland: /ˈkʉkʉ/
  • rhymes with -ʊkuː
  • rhymes with -uːkuː
  • CMU ARPABET: K AH1 K UW2 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: K UW1 K UW2 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Crazy; not sane.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: slang

Examples

  • I think I'm going cuckoo!

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

name

Meaning 2

A locality in Dorset council area, north eastern Tasmania, Australia.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Any of various birds, of the family Cuculidae within the order Cuculiformes, famous for laying its eggs in the nests of other species; but especially a common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), that has a characteristic two-note call.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The sound of that particular bird.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

The bird-shaped figure found in cuckoo clocks.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

The cuckoo clock itself.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

A person who inveigles themselves into a place where they should not be (used especially in the phrase a cuckoo in the nest).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

Someone who is crazy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, slang, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

noun

Meaning 9

Alternative form of coo-coo (Barbadian food).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: alt-of, alternative, countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

noun

Meaning 10

Alternative form of ku ku jiao (the penis)

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Manglish, Singlish, alt-of, alternative, colloquial, countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cuckoo bird, ku ku bird

Antonyms: none provided

11

verb

Meaning 11

To make the call of a cuckoo.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

12

verb

Meaning 12

To repeat something incessantly.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: parrot

Antonyms: none provided

13

verb

Meaning 13

To take over the home of a vulnerable person for the purposes of carrying out organized crime in a concealed way.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK

Topics: government, law-enforcement

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

14

noun

Meaning 14

any of numerous European and North American birds having pointed wings and a long tail

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: cuculiform bird

Narrower terms: European cuckoo, Cuculus canorus, black-billed cuckoo, Coccyzus erythropthalmus, roadrunner, chaparral cock, Geococcyx californianus, ani, coucal

15

noun

Meaning 15

a man who is a stupid incompetent fool

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: fathead, goof, goofball, bozo, jackass, goose, twat, zany

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: fool, sap, saphead, muggins, tomfool

16

verb

Meaning 16

repeat monotonously, like a cuckoo repeats his call

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: repeat, echo

History

Etymology

From Middle English cokkou, kokkow, cukkuk, gokkouȝ, probably from Old French cocu, coquu, cucu (whence French coucou); ultimately onomatopoeic of the song of the male Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), perhaps via Latin cucūlus (“cuckoo”). Compare dialectal English gowkoo (“cuckoo”). Displaced Middle English gnokken (“cuckoo”) and native Middle English yeke, ȝek (from Old English ġēac (“cuckoo”)), see English gowk. The UK sense is by analogy from the bird's practice of brood parasitism. The Malaysian and Singaporean sense is a calque of Hokkien 咕咕鳥 /咕咕鸟 (ku-kú-chiáu)

Across languages

Translations

223 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: qyqe — the bird
  • Southern Altai: кӱӱк (küük) — the bird
  • Arabic: وَقْوَاق (waqwāq) — the bird
  • Arabic: وَقْوَاقِيَّة (waqwāqiyya) — the bird
  • Armenian: կկու (kku) — the bird
  • Aromanian: cuc — the bird
  • Asturian: cucu — the bird
  • Asturian: cuquiellu — the bird
  • Asturian: marmiellu — the bird
  • Asturian: pecú — the bird
  • Azerbaijani: ququ — the bird
  • Azerbaijani: quququşu — the bird
  • Bashkir: кәкүк (kəkük) — the bird
  • Basque: kuku — the bird
  • Belarusian: зязю́ля (zjazjúlja) — the bird
  • Breton: koukoug — the bird
  • Bulgarian: ку́кувица (kúkuvica) — the bird
  • Bulgarian: кукуви́ца (kukuvíca) — the bird
  • Burushaski: kapo — the bird
  • Catalan: cucut — the bird
  • Chechen: оттйокх (ottjoq) — the bird
  • Chinese Mandarin: 杜鵑 /杜鹃 (dùjuān) — the bird
  • Chinese Mandarin: 布穀鳥 /布谷鸟 (bùgǔniǎo) — the bird
  • Chukchi: ӄэӄӄуӄ (qėqquq) — the bird
  • Chukchi: ӄэӄуӄ (qėquq) — the bird
  • Chukchi: ӄэӄучьын (qėqučʹyn) — the bird
  • Cornish: koukou — the bird
  • Czech: kukačka — the bird
  • Danish: gøg — the bird
  • Dutch: koekoek — the bird
  • Erzya: куко (kuko) — the bird
  • Esperanto: kukolo — the bird
  • Estonian: kägu — the bird
  • Estonian: kukulind — the bird
  • Faroese: geykur — the bird
  • Finnish: käki — the bird
  • French: coucou — the bird
  • West-Frisian: koekoek — the bird
  • Friulian: cuc — the bird
  • Friulian: cuců — the bird
  • Friulian: cucuc — the bird
  • Galician: cuco — the bird
  • Galician: cuquelo — the bird
  • Georgian: გუგული (guguli) — the bird
  • German: Kuckuck — the bird
  • Greek: κούκος (koúkos) — the bird
  • Ancient Greek: κόκκυξ (kókkux) — the bird
  • Hebrew: קוּקִיָה (kukiyá) — the bird
  • Hindi: कोयल (koyal) — the bird
  • Hindi: कोकिला (kokilā) — the bird
  • Hungarian: kakukk — the bird
  • Icelandic: gaukur — the bird
  • Ido: kukulo — the bird
  • Interlingua: cucu — the bird
  • Irish: cuach — the bird
  • Italian: cuculo — the bird
  • Italian: cucù — the bird
  • Japanese: 郭公 (kakkō) — the bird
  • Japanese: カッコウ (kakkō) — the bird
  • Kalmyk: шонтл (şontl) — the bird
  • Karakalpak: a'tsho'k — the bird
  • Kazakh: көкек (kökek) — the bird
  • Ket: ӄоӄпунь (qoqpunʼ) — the bird
  • Khakas: кӧӧк (köök) — the bird
  • Eastern Khanty: кӓви (käwi) — the bird
  • Korean: 뻐꾸기 (ppeokkugi) — the bird
  • Korean: 두견새 (dugyeonsae) — the bird
  • Kumyk: атъёкъ (atyoq) — the bird
  • Ladin: cuch — the bird
  • Latgalian: dzagiuze — the bird
  • Latin: cucūlus — the bird
  • Latvian: dzeguze — the bird
  • Lithuanian: gegutė — the bird
  • Lithuanian: gegužė — the bird
  • Livonian: käg — the bird
  • Livonian: kukūlind — the bird
  • Low German: Kuukuuk — the bird
  • Low German: kukuuk — the bird
  • Luxembourgish: Guckuck — the bird
  • Macedonian: кука́вица (kukávica) — the bird
  • Malayalam: കുയിൽ (kuyil) — the bird
  • Malayalam: കോകിലം (kōkilaṁ) — the bird
  • Maltese: daqquqa kaħla — the bird
  • Manx: cooag — the bird
  • Māori: kokoea — the bird
  • Norman: coucou — the bird
  • Norwegian Bokmål: gjøk — the bird
  • Norwegian Bokmål: gauk — the bird
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: gauk — the bird
  • Occitan: coguol — the bird
  • Occitan: coguou — the bird
  • Occitan: cocut — the bird
  • Old English: ġēac — the bird
  • Old Norse: gaukr — the bird
  • Persian: کوکو (kuku) — the bird
  • Polish: kukułka — the bird
  • Portuguese: cuco — the bird
  • Romani: kukuriezo — the bird
  • Romani: chuhuriezo — the bird
  • Romani: kukuriashka — the bird
  • Romani: chuhuriashka — the bird
  • Romanian: cuc — the bird
  • Romansh: cucu — the bird
  • Russian: куку́шка (kukúška) — the bird
  • Sami: giehka — the bird
  • Inari-Sami: kiehâ — the bird
  • Lule-Sami: giehka — the bird
  • Lule-Sami: ránatjalådde — the bird
  • Skolt-Sami: ǩiõkk — the bird
  • Southern Sami: gïege — the bird
  • Sanskrit: कोकिल (kokila) — the bird
  • Sardinian: cucu — the bird
  • Sardinian: cucui — the bird
  • Sardinian: cucuperra — the bird
  • Sardinian: cucuperrai — the bird
  • Sardinian: cucuevvai — the bird
  • Sardinian: cucumarei — the bird
  • Scottish Gaelic: cuthag — the bird
  • Scottish Gaelic: cuach — the bird
  • Serbo-Croatian: кукавица — the bird
  • Serbo-Croatian: kukavica — the bird
  • Shor: кӧӧк (köök) — the bird
  • Slovak: kukučka — the bird
  • Slovene: kukavica — the bird
  • Lower Sorbian: kukawa — the bird
  • Upper Sorbian: kokula — the bird
  • Spanish: cuco — the bird
  • Spanish: cuclillo — the bird
  • Spanish: críalo — the bird
  • Sudovian: geguze — the bird
  • Swahili: kekeo — the bird
  • Swedish: gök — the bird
  • Tagalog: kakok — the bird
  • Tajik: фохтак (foxtak) — the bird
  • Tajik: куку (kuku) — the bird
  • Tajik: олучахӯрак (olučaxürak) — the bird
  • Tamil: குயில் (kuyil) — the bird
  • Telugu: కోకిల (kōkila) — the bird
  • Turkish: guguk — the bird
  • Turkish: guguk kuşu — the bird
  • Turkmen: ikatäk — the bird
  • Ukrainian: зозу́ля (zozúlja) — the bird
  • Urdu: کویل (koyal) — the bird
  • Uzbek: kakkuqush — the bird
  • Uzbek: kakku — the bird
  • Veps: kägi — the bird
  • Vietnamese: chim cu — the bird
  • Vietnamese: cu cu — the bird
  • Vietnamese: cúc cu — the bird
  • Volapük: kukuk — the bird
  • Võro: kägo — the bird
  • Walloon: coucou — the bird
  • Welsh: cog — the bird
  • Welsh: cwcw — the bird
  • Woiwurrung: wurrk-wurrk — the bird
  • Yakut: кэҕэ (keğe) — the bird
  • Yiddish: קוקו (kuku) — the bird
  • Bulgarian: кукане (kukane) — the sound
  • Dutch: koekoek — the sound
  • Estonian: kukku — the sound
  • Estonian: kuku — the sound
  • Estonian: kukkumine — the sound
  • Finnish: kukunta — the sound
  • Finnish: kukkuu — the sound
  • French: coucou — the sound
  • French: coucoulement — the sound
  • German: kuckuck — the sound
  • Ancient Greek: κόκκυ (kókku) — the sound
  • Hindi: कूकू (kūkū) — the sound
  • Hungarian: kakukk — the sound
  • Irish: cu-cú — the sound
  • Italian: cu cu — the sound
  • Kazakh: көк-көк (kök-kök) — the sound
  • Latgalian: kiukuot — the sound
  • Latvian: kūkot — the sound
  • Lithuanian: kukuoti — the sound
  • Macedonian: ку-ку (ku-ku) — the sound
  • Mongolian: гүүг гүүг (güüg güüg) — the sound
  • Mongolian: гүг гүү (güg güü) — the sound
  • Norwegian: ko-ko — the sound
  • Russian: ку-ку (ku-ku) — the sound
  • Swedish: kucku — the sound
  • Turkish: guguk — the sound
  • Vietnamese: cu cu — the sound
  • Vietnamese: cúc cu — the sound
  • Estonian: kellakägu — bird-shaped figure in cuckoo clock
  • Finnish: käki — bird-shaped figure in cuckoo clock
  • Estonian: käokell — cuckoo clock — see also cuckoo clock
  • Bulgarian: чалнат (čalnat) — someone crazy — see also crazy
  • Chinese Mandarin: 狂者 — someone crazy — see also crazy
  • Estonian: uhhuu — someone crazy — see also crazy
  • French: coucou — someone crazy — see also crazy
  • Hungarian: zakkant — someone crazy — see also crazy
  • Hungarian: lökött — someone crazy — see also crazy
  • Hungarian: buggyant — someone crazy — see also crazy
  • Hungarian: dilis — someone crazy — see also crazy
  • Japanese: 風狂の人 (fūkyōnohito) — someone crazy — see also crazy
  • Russian: ку-ку́ (ku-kú) — someone crazy — see also crazy
  • Bulgarian: ку́кам (kúkam) — to make the call of a cuckoo
  • Estonian: kukkuma — to make the call of a cuckoo
  • Finnish: kukkua — to make the call of a cuckoo
  • French: coucouler — to make the call of a cuckoo
  • Galician: cucar — to make the call of a cuckoo
  • Hungarian: kakukkol — to make the call of a cuckoo
  • Macedonian: кука (kuka) — to make the call of a cuckoo
  • Manchu: ᡨ᠋ᠣᠩᠰᡳᠮᠪᡳ (tongsimbi) — to make the call of a cuckoo
  • Māori: kūī — to make the call of a cuckoo
  • Classical Mongolian: ᠱᠣᠭᠱᠤᠤᠷᠯᠠᠮᠦᠢ (šoɣšuurlamüi) — to make the call of a cuckoo
  • Polish: kukać — to make the call of a cuckoo
  • Portuguese: cucar — to make the call of a cuckoo
  • Portuguese: cucular — to make the call of a cuckoo
  • Russian: куковать (kukovatʹ) — to make the call of a cuckoo
  • Swedish: gala — to make the call of a cuckoo
  • Tamil: கூவு (kūvu) — to make the call of a cuckoo
  • Bulgarian: повтарям монотонно (povtarjam monotonno) — to repeat something incessantly
  • Estonian: leierdama — to repeat something incessantly
  • Estonian: käiama — to repeat something incessantly
  • Estonian: ketrama — to repeat something incessantly
  • Finnish: hokea — to repeat something incessantly
  • Hungarian: ismételget — to repeat something incessantly
  • Hungarian: szajkóz — to repeat something incessantly
  • Macedonian: вергла (vergla) — to repeat something incessantly
  • Polish: gęgać — to repeat something incessantly
Real reading context

cuckoo in complete knowledge articles