Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
American crow

American crow

3.3
A large glossy black bird found in North America that makes a loud cawing sound and is very smart
  • noun
  • /əˈmɛrɪkən kroʊ/
  • US
translation icon : cuervo americano
  • Many American crows gather in the park at dusk.

Examples

  • Farmers sometimes regard the American crow as a pest because it feeds on crops.

  • In city parks, you can often see American crows scavenging for food.

  • The American crow is easily recognized by its all-black plumage and distinctive cawing sound.

  • The American crow is often seen in urban areas.

  • An American crow perched on the telephone wire, cawing loudly as it searched for food.

  • During our hike, we spotted an American crow building a nest high in the trees.

  • The American crow is often seen in parks, where it scavenges for leftovers from picnics.

Synonyms

crow
vsAmerican crow
60 1.0

A large black bird with a loud, harsh call

is the North American species with glossy black feathers and notable intelligence
Corvus brachyrhynchos
vsAmerican crow
  • Specialized
9.6

A common black bird found across North America, known as the American crow

has identical meaning but is the common English name

Surface Forms

American crow singular
American crows plural

Morphology

American + crow

The meaning 'a crow from America' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'American' (connected with the United States) with 'crow' (the bird). This adjectival + noun composition indicating origin/type is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The name American crow joins American, meaning the place where it lives, and crow, the common black bird. Early people who named animals used simple names like this to mean 'a crow from America', so today it simply means the common black crow you see in North America.