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Glite Dictionary
martin

martin

1 6.1
A small bird like a swallow with long pointed wings and a slightly forked tail
  • noun
  • /ˈmɑrtɪn/
translation icon : martinete
  • Above our heads, in the gray light, a scattering of purple martins set free by the dawn from the gourd houses on the lawn chased mosquitoes, diving and sliding.
  • purple martins
  • martin colony

Examples

  • Flocks of swallows and martins—and I don't know what all—winged their way toward Africa and the Amazon Basin.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • For the last two years, the purple martins who live in our backyard box during the spring and summer have returned from their Brazilian winter during the first week of February.

    Blog text (22)

  • Put up some gourds for a martin colony,

    Cold Mountain (2003)

  • Making homes for purple martins, huh?

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Last week, I saw a purple martin... and the week before that, I saw a solitary vireo.

    The Woodsman (2004)

  • Again, it seems, the purple martins have returned to their part-time home at exactly the right time.

    Blog text (22)

  • These apartments are exclusively for the purple martins.

    Blog text (22)

  • Yet farther up the road, near a hole in the river where people were sometimes dipped in baptism, a cloud of martins erupted out of a maple tree nearing the peak of its color.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • We walked along the sidewalk to a very small riverfront park, which someone had attempted to give a whimsical air by attaching steamboat paddles to the purple martin houses.

    Blog text (20)

  • Every summer, we enjoy watching the martins build their nests under the eaves of our house.

Synonyms

swallow
vsmartin
15 2.1

A small bird with long pointed wings and a forked tail that eats insects

is a specific kind with a squarish or slightly forked tail
martlet
vsmartin
  • Archaic
9.9

A small bird like a swallow that flies quickly

is the neutral modern term used in scientific or common speech

Compounds

Martin Luther King Day
  • US
4 2.0

A public holiday in the United States on the third Monday in January to honor Martin Luther King Jr

purple martin
  • Specialized
1 7.6

A large North American swallow with shiny blue-black males and duller females

bank martin
  • UK
9.1

A small swallow that digs holes in sandy or clay banks to make its nest

Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday
  • US
3.4

A United States holiday to honor Martin Luther King Jr held on a Monday near January 15

house martin
  • UK
6.9

A small bird like a swallow that builds mud nests under the edge of a roof

Saint Martin
3.8

An island in the northeast Caribbean shared by France and the Netherlands

sand martin
  • UK
7.0

A small swallow that migrates, nests in holes in sandy riverbanks and eats insects

tree martin
  • Australian
8.8

A small swallow that lives in Australia and nearby islands and nests in tree holes

Surface Forms

martin singular
martins plural

Etymology

Martin for the bird probably comes from the old name Martin, which goes back to Mars ('the Roman god of war'). A helpful way to remember it is to think of a person called Martin watching a small swallow, so a martin is a type of swallow.