Phrase guide

wading bird

noun · 3 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

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see wading, bird.

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

Any of various long-legged birds, such as cranes (Gruidae), herons (Ardeidae), storks (Ciconiidae), or flamingos (Phoenicopteridae), that wade in shallow water in search of food.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: wader

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

any of many long-legged birds that wade in water in search of food

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: wader

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: aquatic bird

Narrower terms: stork, shoebill, shoebird, Balaeniceps rex, ibis, spoonbill, flamingo, heron, crane, courlan, Aramus guarauna, limpkin, Aramus pictus, crested cariama, seriema, Cariama cristata, chunga, Chunga burmeisteri, rail, bustard, button quail, button-quail, bustard quail, hemipode, ortygan, plain wanderer, Pedionomus torquatus, trumpeter, shorebird, shore bird, limicoline bird

History

Etymology

From wading + bird.

Across languages

Translations

17 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 涉禽 (shèqín) — long-legged bird
  • Danish: vadefugl — long-legged bird
  • Dutch: waadvogel — long-legged bird
  • Finnish: kahlaaja — long-legged bird
  • German: Watvogel — long-legged bird
  • German: Stelzvogel — long-legged bird
  • Hungarian: gázló — long-legged bird
  • Hungarian: gázlómadár — long-legged bird
  • Icelandic: vaðfugl — long-legged bird
  • Italian: uccelli limicoli — long-legged bird
  • Italian: trampoliere — long-legged bird
  • Italian: uccello di ripa — long-legged bird
  • Malay: burung randuk — long-legged bird
  • Norwegian Bokmål: vadefugl — long-legged bird
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: vadefugl — long-legged bird
  • Polish: ptak brodzący — long-legged bird
  • Scottish Gaelic: eun-grunnachaidh — long-legged bird