Standard Lemma guide

whippoorwill

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

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: /ˈʍɪp.ɚˌwɪl/
  • General-American: /ˈwɪp.ɚˌwɪl/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈwɪp.əˌwɪl/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A nocturnal insectivorous bird of North America (Antrostomus vociferus, syn. Caprimulgus vociferus), a type of nightjar, named after its characteristic call.

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

The distinctive call of the above bird.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The bird sang his whippoorwills all night.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

American nocturnal goatsucker with grey-and-white plumage

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Caprimulgus vociferus

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: goatsucker, nightjar, caprimulgid

History

Etymology

Imitative of its note.

Across languages

Translations

15 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: американски козодой (amerikanski kozodoj) — bird
  • Cherokee: ᏩᎫᎵ (waguli) — bird
  • Cherokee: ᏍᏆᎴᏩᎵ (squalewali) — bird
  • Finnish: amerikankehrääjä — bird
  • French: bois-pourri — bird
  • German: Schwarzkehl-Nachtschwalbe — bird
  • Italian: caprimulgo — bird
  • Italian: succiacapre — bird
  • Latin: caprimulgus — bird
  • Navajo: hoshdódii — bird
  • Polish: lelkowiec — bird
  • Romanian: caprimulg — bird
  • Spanish: cuerporruín — bird
  • Swedish: skriknattskärra — bird
  • Unami: wèkulis — bird