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goose

goose

34 1.0
A large water bird with webbed feet and a long neck that often flies south in groups in autumn
  • noun
  • /ɡus/
translation icon : ganso
  • During the autumn, many travelers enjoy watching flocks of geese migrate south for the winter.
  • a wild goose
  • Canada goose

Chicken eggs, duck eggs, quail eggs, goose eggs, any egg is fine.

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Examples

  • Goosey Lucy was a very dignified goose, though, and wouldn't jump at the merest click of a beak.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • One time, a goose came after him when he was a kid.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Once again, June, the goose was really quite wonderful.

  • The biggest goose in all of London.

  • At age eight, most of us already knew what a turkey, chicken, and goose were.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Is it a duck or a goose or a bird?

  • I see the male goose out there, so that means a female is nesting somewhere.

  • It's a goose, as anyone can plainly see.

  • I listen to the call of the graylag goose and dream of the places they come from.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Farmer Jones delivered a shipment of his prizewinning goose eggs to the local market just last week.

Synonyms

bird
vsgoose
1.0

A warm-blooded animal with feathers, wings, and a beak that usually flies

is a specific water adapted long necked kind rather than the broad animal class
waterfowl
vsgoose
12 3.5

Birds that live near fresh water, like ducks, geese, and swans

is a larger long necked type that is less aquatic than many swimmers
waterbird
vsgoose
1 2.4

A bird that lives near fresh water and swims or wades

is larger with webbed feet and spends less time swimming

Idioms

To destroy a steady source of income by greedy short-term choices

loose as a goose
  • Informal
1 8.4

Being very relaxed and not worried, acting carefree and playful

Make someone lose their chance of success

9.9

Doing something risky and foolish that will likely make you lose money or get into trouble

In serious trouble and likely to be punished or ruined

A saying that you should not expect a wild person or thing to behave calmly

Compounds

wild-goose chase
  • Informal
22 6.6

A hopeless search for something that does not exist

golden goose
  • Informal
9 4.4

A thing or business that keeps making a lot of money

Mother Goose
  • Literature
3 4.5

An imaginary old woman who writes nursery rhymes and fairy tales

3 3.0

A small raised spot on your skin when you feel cold, scared, or excited

3 3.8

Soft fine feathers from under a goose used as warm filling

3 2.7

A large wild goose from North America with a black head and neck and white cheeks

goose egg
  • Informal
3 8.1

A score or total of zero

2 6.5

A food made from a goose's liver and often served as a rich spread

2 3.7

A small raised bump on the skin that appears when you feel cold, afraid, or have strong feelings

1 3.2

A large wild goose with a black head and white cheek patches that honks loudly and is often near lakes

1 2.8

A white goose with black wing tips found in North America

1 7.5

Fat from geese that people use in cooking and rub on the skin as a simple medicine

1 4.1

Small raised bumps on the skin when you are cold or scared

7.2

A wild goose from North America with dark feathers in summer and white in winter

9.3

A small dark goose that breeds in the far north and flies south for winter

8.8

A small dark goose that breeds in the Arctic and flies south for the winter

A large farm goose from China with a prominent knob on its bill

A small dark bird that lives on northern coasts and eats sea plants

A small goose that breeds in the far north and flies south in winter

goose barnacle
  • Specialized
9.5

A small sea animal with a shell on a stalk that sticks to ships and driftwood

goose grass
  • Specialized
7.9

A coarse annual grass often found as a weed in fields and gardens

An annual plant with sticky, prickly stems that cling to clothes

A low-growing plant that grows back each year with silvery undersides on its leaves

9.8

A wild plum tree from eastern and central North America that makes red-orange fruit with yellow flesh

A march with straight legs swung high used in military parades

A soldier who marches with straight legs and high steps

A low plant that lives many years and people often use as ground cover

5.6

A large gray wild goose common in Europe and western Asia

9.3

A large white seabird with black-tipped wings that dives for fish

9.9

A large white sea bird with black wing tips that dives for fish

How Big

swan
102 1.0
goose
34 1.0
pigeon
247 1.0
sparrow
38 1.0
wren
5 2.2

Surface Forms

goose singular
geese plural

Etymology

Goose comes from old English gōs, and you can see the same root in gosling, which means 'baby goose'. So goose still means the long-necked water bird you see by ponds and lakes.