🐦 A small bird ⛳ One under par 🏸 A shuttlecock ⛳ To score under par

birdie

3 4.1

A light object with feathers or plastic used in badminton instead of a ball

noun
/ˈbɜrdi/

: volante

When playing badminton, it's important to hit the birdie accurately to score points.

I want to do that the the Japanese one where like those people have that hacky sack that looks like a birdie of badminton.

Examples

Their seeds look like little birdies, like badminton birdies, but their seed heads are so pretty to use in arrangements.
Ah, we threw the racket up to get the birdie.

I.Q. (1994)
For example, her interactions were "bend your knees and at the waist when serving the birdie" and "gently hold the birdie when you hit it."

Academic text (2005)
During the match, he skillfully sent the birdie soaring over the net.
She practiced her serves until she could expertly hit the birdie each time.

Synonyms

shuttle

vsbirdie

20 3.2

A light feathered object hit over the net in badminton

is the everyday shorter term used by players

bird

vsbirdie

17 7.2

A small object with feathers that is hit over a net in badminton

is the common informal name without focus on material

shuttlecock

vsbirdie

4 4.2

A small cone-shaped object with feathers or plastic that players hit in badminton

is a shorter informal name for that same game piece

Idioms

Hippo birdie two ewe

Informal

9.9

A funny way to say Happy birthday using animal names

Surface Forms

birdie singular

birdies plural

Morphology

birdie = bird (semi-transparent) = bird + ie

The word is built from 'bird' plus the diminutive suffix '-ie', but the badminton shuttlecock sense is a conventional nickname rather than a fully predictable meaning.

Etymology

Birdie for the small badminton object comes from the fact it was once made with real bird feathers, so it looks like a little bird when it flies. That's why calling the shuttlecock a birdie helps you imagine its feathered shape and flight.