Definitions for woodpecker
ˈwʊdˌpɛk ərwood·peck·er

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. woodpecker, peckerwood, peckernoun

   bird with strong claws and a stiff tail adapted for climbing and a hard chisel-like bill for boring into wood for insects

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. woodpeckernoun

   One of several species of bird from the family Picidae, with a sharp beak suitable for pecking holes in wood.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Woodpeckernoun

   picus martius, Lat. A bird.

   Etymology: wood and peck;

   The structure of the tongue of the woodpecker is very singular, whether we look at its great length, its bones and muscles, its incompassing parts of the neck and head, the better to exert itself in length, and, again, to retract it into its cell; and lastly, whether we look at its sharp, horny, bearded point, and the gluey matter at the end of it, the better to stab and draw little maggots out of wood. William Derham, Physico-theology.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Woodpecker

   Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. Most species live in forests or woodland habitats, although a few species are known that live in treeless areas, such as rocky hillsides and deserts, and the Gila woodpecker specialises in exploiting cacti. Members of this family are chiefly known for their characteristic behaviour. They mostly forage for insect prey on the trunks and branches of trees, and often communicate by drumming with their beaks, producing a reverberatory sound that can be heard at some distance. Some species vary their diet with fruits, birds' eggs, small animals, tree sap, human scraps, and carrion. They usually nest and roost in holes that they excavate in tree trunks, and their abandoned holes are of importance to other cavity-nesting birds. They sometimes come into conflict with humans when they make holes in buildings or feed on fruit crops, but perform a useful service by their removal of insect pests on trees. The Picidae are one of nine living families in the order Piciformes, the others being barbets (comprising three families), toucans, toucan-barbets, and honeyguides, which (along with woodpeckers) comprise the clade Pici, and the jacamars and puffbirds in the clade Galbuli. DNA sequencing has confirmed the sister relationships of these two groups. The family Picidae includes about 240 species arranged in 35 genera. Almost 20 species are threatened with extinction due to loss of habitat or habitat fragmentation, with one, the Bermuda flicker, being extinct and a further two possibly being so.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. woodpecker

   A woodpecker is a type of bird known for its distinctive habit of pecking on tree trunks to find insects and larvae for food or to carve out nest cavities. They belong to the family Picidae and are characterized by strong beaks, a stiff tail for support while pecking, and long, barbed tongues to extract food. Woodpeckers can be found worldwide with diverse species ranging in color and size.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Woodpeckernoun

   any one of numerous species of scansorial birds belonging to Picus and many allied genera of the family Picidae

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Woodpecker

   The woodpeckers, piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers are a family, Picidae, of near-passerine birds. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. Most species live in forests or woodland habitats, although a few species are known to live in treeless areas, such as rocky hillsides and deserts. The Picidae are just one of the eight living families in the order Piciformes. Members of the order Piciformes, such as the jacamars, puffbirds, barbets, toucans, and honeyguides, have traditionally been thought to be very closely related to the woodpeckers, piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. More recently, DNA sequence analyses have confirmed this view. There are about 200 species and about 30 genera in this family. Many species are threatened or endangered due to loss of habitat or habitat fragmentation. Two species of woodpeckers, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker and the Imperial Woodpecker, have been considered extinct for about 30 years.

Matched Categories

1. • Piciform Bird

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Anagrams for woodpecker »

1. peckerwood

How to pronounce woodpecker?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say woodpecker in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of woodpecker in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of woodpecker in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of woodpecker in a Sentence

1. Marina Pacheco:

   If the woodpecker had managed to hit the weasel with its beak it would have been the end of the weasel, they're quite gung-ho little creatures.

2. Tom Robbins:

   When she was a small girl, Amanda hid a ticking clock in an old, rotten tree trunk. It drove woodpeckers crazy. Ignoring tasty bugs all around them, they just about beat their brains out trying to get at the clock. Years later, Amanda used the woodpecker experiment as a model for understanding capitalism, Communism, Christianity, and all other systems that traffic in future rewards rather than in present realities.

3. Marina Pacheco:

   I think it was a bit of a long shot -- it looks like it tried to grab the neck of the woodpecker to break it, i think that it probably doesn't have a big enough jaw to bite through the spine of the woodpecker.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=woodpecker
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Woodpecker
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=woodpecker
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodpecker
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/woodpecker
7. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=woodpecker
8. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=woodpecker