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buzzard

buzzard

4 5.9
A large bird that eats dead animals and is found in North and South America
  • noun
  • /ˈbʌzərd/
  • US
translation icon : buitre pavo
  • As we hiked through the desert, we spotted a group of buzzards circling high above, searching for their next meal.
  • turkey buzzards
  • buzzards picking
  • buzzards circling

Now we're dealing with rattlers out there, Pumas, there's some serious animals out there, some buzzards.

Examples

Synonyms

vulture
vsbuzzard
42 3.3

A large bird with a bare head that eats dead animals

is the regional American name for a particular group rather than all such birds
turkey vulture
vsbuzzard
  • US
3 6.0

A large bird with dark feathers that eats dead animals

is a broader regional name for similar scavenging birds
turkey buzzard
vsbuzzard
  • US
1 7.8

A large bird with a red bald head that eats dead animals

is the broader standard name for that regional species label
Cathartes aura
vsbuzzard
  • Specialized
9.9

A large American vulture with a red head that eats dead animals

is the common descriptive name used for that scavenging American bird
New World vulture
vsbuzzard
  • US
7.5

A large bird in the Americas that eats dead animals and often has a bare head

is a more specific term for one common species within that family

Idioms

9.9

To wait for someone else to have a problem so you can gain from it

Someone acts in a greedy way while waiting to gain from someone else's trouble

Compounds

1 7.8

A large bird with a red bald head that eats dead animals

A large hunting bird that eats young bees and small animals like mice and lizards

Surface Forms

buzzard singular
buzzards plural

Etymology

The word buzzard was later used by English speakers in America for large birds that eat dead animals, like vultures, because settlers used the old name for any big bird of prey or scavenger. That's why in the US a buzzard often means a vulture.