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Glite Dictionary
thick-billed murre

thick-billed murre

9.9
A large seabird that lives in Arctic seas with a short, thick bill and black and white feathers
  • noun
  • /θɪk bɪld mʌr/
  • Specialized
translation icon : murre de pico grueso
  • A thick-billed murre can dive to great depths in search of fish and crustaceans.

Examples

  • During their summer breeding season, thick-billed murres nest in dense colonies on remote Arctic cliffs.

  • Scientists track the migration routes of thick-billed murre populations as climate change alters their environment.

  • The thick-billed murre is known for its distinctive plumage.

  • Many thick-billed murres nest on steep cliffs.

  • The thick-billed murre has black feathers on its back and a white front.

  • As we glided past dappled blue icebergs and glacier-capped peaks, we caught a glimpse of newborn thick-billed murres.

  • We watched snow geese fly overhead and the playful splashing of thick-billed murres, loonlike birds that zip under the water.

Synonyms

Uria lomvia
vsthick-billed murre
  • Specialized
9.9

A large black and white bird that lives at sea and nests on Arctic cliffs

is the common everyday name used outside scientific texts

Surface Forms

thick-billed murre singular
thick-billed murres plural

Morphology

thick-billed + murre

The noun phrase is fully descriptive: 'thick-billed' (having a thick bill/beak) modifies 'murre' (a seabird), so the overall meaning is simply ‘a murre with a thick bill’. This is a straightforward adjectival + noun composition following regular English compounding patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can derive the meaning.

Etymology

Thick-billed murre describes the bird by its look. Thick-billed means it has a short, strong bill for catching fish, and murre is the name for this kind of 'sea bird', so the whole name means 'this bird species'.