Colloquial Variant guide

woodpecker

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.

  • wo͝odʹpĕ'kər
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈwʊdˌpɛkə/
  • British, Southern, Standard: /ˈwɵdˌpɛkə/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: /ˈwʊdˌpɛkɚ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australian, New-Zealand: /ˈwʊdˌpekə/
  • Scotland: /ˈwʉdˌpɛkəɾ/
  • Northern-Ireland: /ˈwʉdˌpɛkəɻ/
  • CMU ARPABET: W UH1 D P EH2 K ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Any bird of species-rich family Picidae, with a strong pointed beak suitable for pecking holes in wood.

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 Type 92 heavy machine gun.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: slang

Topics: government, military, politics, war

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

bird with strong claws and a stiff tail adapted for climbing and a hard chisel-like bill for boring into wood for insects

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: peckerwood, pecker

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: piciform bird

Narrower terms: green woodpecker, Picus viridis, downy woodpecker, flicker, ivorybill, ivory-billed woodpecker, Campephilus principalis, redheaded woodpecker, redhead, Melanerpes erythrocephalus, sapsucker, wryneck, piculet

History

Etymology

From wood + pecker. Compare Middle English wod spek (“woodpecker”), Middle English wodehake (“woodpecker”), Middle English wodewale (“woodpecker”). Displaced speight.

Across languages

Translations

195 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: houtkapper — bird in Picidae
  • Albanian: qukapikorët — bird in Picidae
  • Southern Altai: томуртка (tomurtka) — bird in Picidae
  • Amharic: ግንደ ቆርቁር (gəndä ḳorḳur) — bird in Picidae
  • Arabic: نَقَّار الخَشَب (naqqār al-ḵašab) — bird in Picidae
  • Armenian: փայտփորիկ (pʻaytpʻorik) — bird in Picidae
  • Assamese: কাঠৰোকা (kathrüka) — bird in Picidae
  • Assamese: বাঢ়ৈটোকা (barhoitüka) — bird in Picidae
  • Asturian: picatueru — bird in Picidae
  • Azerbaijani: ağacdələn — bird in Picidae
  • Bashkir: тумыртҡа (tumırtqa) — bird in Picidae
  • Basque: okil — bird in Picidae
  • Basque: katatxori — bird in Picidae
  • Belarusian: дзя́цел (dzjácjel) — bird in Picidae
  • Central Bikol: ambalatok — bird in Picidae
  • Breton: speged — bird in Picidae
  • Bulgarian: кълва́ч (kǎlváč) — bird in Picidae
  • Burmese: သစ်တောက်ငှက် (sactaukhngak) — bird in Picidae
  • Burmese: ခေါက်ရှာငှက် (hkaukhrahngak) — bird in Picidae
  • Catalan: picot — bird in Picidae
  • Chamicuro: me'na — bird in Picidae
  • Chechen: хенакӏур (xenakʼur) — bird in Picidae
  • Cherokee: ᏉᎦ (quoga) — bird in Picidae
  • Chichewa: gogomole — bird in Picidae
  • Chinese Mandarin: 鴷 /䴕 (liè) — bird in Picidae
  • Chinese Mandarin: 啄木鳥 /啄木鸟 (zhuómùniǎo) — bird in Picidae
  • Chukchi: уттырэвымрэв (uttyrėvymrėv) — bird in Picidae
  • Cornish: kasek koos — bird in Picidae
  • Czech: datel — bird in Picidae
  • Czech: strakapoud — bird in Picidae
  • Danish: spætte — bird in Picidae
  • Dutch: specht — bird in Picidae
  • Erzya: шекшата (šekšata) — bird in Picidae
  • Esperanto: pego — bird in Picidae
  • Estonian: rähn — bird in Picidae
  • Faroese: spæta — bird in Picidae
  • Finnish: tikka — bird in Picidae
  • French: pic — bird in Picidae
  • French: pic-vert — bird in Picidae
  • French: pivert — bird in Picidae
  • West-Frisian: spjocht — bird in Picidae
  • Friulian: pic — bird in Picidae
  • Gagauz: aaçkakan — bird in Picidae
  • Galician: peto — bird in Picidae
  • Galician: picapau — bird in Picidae
  • Galician: piquelo — bird in Picidae
  • Galician: carpinteiro — bird in Picidae
  • Georgian: კოდალა (ḳodala) — bird in Picidae
  • German: Specht — bird in Picidae
  • Greek: δρυοκολάπτης (dryokoláptis) — bird in Picidae
  • Greek: τρυποκάρυδος (trypokárydos) — bird in Picidae
  • Ancient Greek: δρύοψ (drúops) — bird in Picidae
  • Ancient Greek: πελεκᾶς (pelekâs) — bird in Picidae
  • Hindi: हुदहुद (hudhud) — bird in Picidae
  • Hindi: कठफोड़वा (kaṭhphoṛvā) — bird in Picidae
  • Hindi: कठफोड़ा (kaṭhphoṛā) — bird in Picidae
  • Hungarian: harkály — bird in Picidae
  • Hungarian: fakopáncs — bird in Picidae
  • Icelandic: spæta — bird in Picidae
  • Ido: pego — bird in Picidae
  • Indonesian: burung pelatuk — bird in Picidae
  • Irish: cnagaire — bird in Picidae
  • Italian: picchio — bird in Picidae
  • Japanese: 啄木鳥 (kitsutsuki) — bird in Picidae
  • Japanese: キツツキ (kitsutsuki) — bird in Picidae
  • Kashubian: dzëdzón — bird in Picidae
  • Kazakh: тоқылдақ (toqyldaq) — bird in Picidae
  • Kazakh: тоқылдауық (toqyldauyq) — bird in Picidae
  • Komi-Zyrian: сизь (śiź) — bird in Picidae
  • Korean: 딱따구리 (ttakttaguri) — bird in Picidae
  • Kumyk: тонкътонкъ (tonqtonq) — bird in Picidae
  • Kumyk: къӀуткъӀуду — bird in Picidae
  • Kumyk: къутгъуду (qutğudu) — bird in Picidae
  • Central Kurdish: دارکونکەرە (darkunkere) — bird in Picidae
  • Central Kurdish: دارەسمە (daresme) — bird in Picidae
  • Northern Kurdish: darkutok — bird in Picidae
  • Northern Kurdish: qîqo — bird in Picidae
  • Northern Kurdish: darkutik — bird in Picidae
  • Northern Kurdish: kutkutok — bird in Picidae
  • Northern Kurdish: darniqêrk — bird in Picidae
  • Northern Kurdish: kîlkîlotik — bird in Picidae
  • Northern Kurdish: çiçikan — bird in Picidae
  • Kyrgyz: тоңкулдак (toŋkuldak) — bird in Picidae
  • Kyrgyz: доңкулдак (doŋkuldak) — bird in Picidae
  • Ladino: becalen — bird in Picidae
  • Lakota: čhaŋkátotola — bird in Picidae
  • Latgalian: dzeņs — bird in Picidae
  • Latgalian: dzylna — bird in Picidae
  • Latin: pīcus — bird in Picidae
  • Latvian: dzenis — bird in Picidae
  • Latvian: dzilna — bird in Picidae
  • Lithuanian: genys — bird in Picidae
  • Lithuanian: meleta — bird in Picidae
  • Low German: Holthacker — bird in Picidae
  • Low German: Boomhacker — bird in Picidae
  • Low German: Boombicker — bird in Picidae
  • Low German: Boomlöper — bird in Picidae
  • Luxembourgish: Spiecht — bird in Picidae
  • Macedonian: клукајдрвец (klukajdrvec) — bird in Picidae
  • Macedonian: детел (detel) — bird in Picidae
  • Malay: belatuk — bird in Picidae
  • Malayalam: മരംകൊത്തി (maraṅkotti) — bird in Picidae
  • Manchu: ᡨᠣᡵᡥᠣᠨ (torhon) — bird in Picidae
  • Northern Mansi: хо̄хра (hōhra) — bird in Picidae
  • Maranao: balalatok — bird in Picidae
  • Eastern Mari: шиште (šište) — bird in Picidae
  • Western Mari: шиштӹ (šištÿ) — bird in Picidae
  • Mi'kmaq: apo'qatej — bird in Picidae
  • Central Sierra Miwok: palát·atà- — bird in Picidae
  • Mongolian: тоншуул (tonšuul) — bird in Picidae
  • Muna: kadondo — bird in Picidae
  • Nanai: пилакта (pilakta) — bird in Picidae
  • Navajo: tsin yiłkaałii — bird in Picidae
  • Nheengatu: arapasu — bird in Picidae
  • Norwegian Bokmål: hakkespett — bird in Picidae
  • Norwegian Bokmål: hakkespette — bird in Picidae
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: hakkespett — bird in Picidae
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: hakkespette — bird in Picidae
  • Occitan: picot — bird in Picidae
  • Ojibwe: baabaase — bird in Picidae
  • Ojibwe: baapaase — bird in Picidae
  • Old English: fina — bird in Picidae
  • Old English: spiht — bird in Picidae
  • Old Tupi: ipeku — bird in Picidae
  • Old Tupi: ipekũ — bird in Picidae
  • Pacoh: tréh — bird in Picidae
  • Pacoh: theam — bird in Picidae
  • Pannonian Rusyn: лєсов дохтор (ljesov doxtor) — bird in Picidae
  • Persian: دارکوب (dârkub) — bird in Picidae
  • Plautdietsch: Specht — bird in Picidae
  • Polabian: bikăc — bird in Picidae
  • Polish: dzięcioł — bird in Picidae
  • Portuguese: pica-pau — bird in Picidae
  • Portuguese: picapau — bird in Picidae
  • Potawatomi: babasé — bird in Picidae
  • Quechua: hak'akllu — bird in Picidae
  • Romani: chuplitari — bird in Picidae
  • Romani: chuplitarka — bird in Picidae
  • Romanian: ghionoaie — bird in Picidae
  • Romanian: ciocănitoare — bird in Picidae
  • Romansh: pitgalain — bird in Picidae
  • Russian: дя́тел (djátel) — bird in Picidae
  • Northern Sami: čáihni — bird in Picidae
  • Santali: ᱮᱨᱮ (ere) — bird in Picidae
  • Sardinian: biccalinna — bird in Picidae
  • Sardinian: biccamuru — bird in Picidae
  • Sardinian: biccamatta — bird in Picidae
  • Scottish Gaelic: snagan-daraich — bird in Picidae
  • Seneca: disdis — bird in Picidae
  • Seneca: tistis — bird in Picidae
  • Serbo-Croatian: детлић — bird in Picidae
  • Serbo-Croatian: дјетлић — bird in Picidae
  • Serbo-Croatian: жуна — bird in Picidae
  • Serbo-Croatian: детао — bird in Picidae
  • Serbo-Croatian: дјетао — bird in Picidae
  • Serbo-Croatian: detlić — bird in Picidae
  • Serbo-Croatian: djetlić — bird in Picidae
  • Serbo-Croatian: žuna — bird in Picidae
  • Serbo-Croatian: detao — bird in Picidae
  • Serbo-Croatian: djetao — bird in Picidae
  • Slovak: ďateľ — bird in Picidae
  • Lower Sorbian: źiśelc — bird in Picidae
  • Upper Sorbian: dypornak — bird in Picidae
  • Upper Sorbian: dypak — bird in Picidae
  • Spanish: pájaro carpintero — bird in Picidae
  • Spanish: pito — bird in Picidae
  • Spanish: picamaderos — bird in Picidae
  • Spanish: carpinterito — bird in Picidae
  • Spanish: picatroncos — bird in Picidae
  • Spanish: cheje — bird in Picidae
  • Spanish: picapinos — bird in Picidae
  • Spanish: cerequeque — bird in Picidae
  • Swahili: kigong'ota — bird in Picidae
  • Swedish: hackspett — bird in Picidae
  • Tagalog: tariktik — bird in Picidae
  • Tamil: மரங்கொத்தி (maraṅkotti) — bird in Picidae
  • Lower Tanana: dechetthala — bird in Picidae
  • Telugu: వడ్రంగిపిట్ట (vaḍraṅgipiṭṭa) — bird in Picidae
  • Telugu: మానుతొలుచుపిట్ట (mānutolucupiṭṭa) — bird in Picidae
  • Turkish: ağaçkakan — bird in Picidae
  • Ottoman Turkish: آغاج قاقان (ağac kakan) — bird in Picidae
  • Turkmen: daşdeşen — bird in Picidae
  • Udmurt: сизь (śiź) — bird in Picidae
  • Ukrainian: дя́тел (djátel) — bird in Picidae
  • Unami: kwèhkwès — bird in Picidae
  • Urdu: ہُدْہُد (hudhud) — bird in Picidae
  • Urdu: ہُد ہُد (hud hud) — bird in Picidae
  • Venetan: pigòzo — bird in Picidae
  • Vietnamese: gõ kiến — bird in Picidae
  • Volapük: pikit — bird in Picidae
  • Welsh: cnocell — bird in Picidae
  • Welsh: taradr y coed — bird in Picidae
  • Wolof: ngorkaan li — bird in Picidae
  • Yakut: тоҥсоҕой (toŋsoğoy) — bird in Picidae
  • Yiddish: פּיקהאָלץ (pikholts) — bird in Picidae