Definition of 'heron'
COBUILD frequency band
heron
Word forms: plural herons
countable noun
A heron is a large bird which has long legs and a long beak, and which eats fish.
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
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COBUILD frequency band
heron in British English
noun
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin
C14: from Old French hairon, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German heigaro, Old Norse hegriCOBUILD frequency band
heron in American English
nounWord forms: plural ˈherons or ˈheronOrigin: ME heroun < OFr hairon < Frank *heigro (akin to OHG heigir, ON hegri) < IE *(s)ker-, var. of base *ker-, echoic of hoarse cry > scream
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 5th Digital Edition. Copyright © 2025 HarperCollins Publishers.
COBUILD frequency band
Heron in American English
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 5th Digital Edition. Copyright © 2025 HarperCollins Publishers.
COBUILD frequency band
heron in American English
(ˈherən)
noun
any of numerous long-legged, long-necked, usually long-billed birds of the family Ardeidae, including the true herons, egrets, night herons, and bitterns
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019 by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Word origin
[1275–1325; ME heiro(u)n, hero(u)n ‹ MF hairon (F héron) ‹ Gmc; cf. OHG heigir]Examples of 'heron' in a sentence heron
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Word lists with heron
birdQuick word challenge
Quiz Review
Question: 1
- Score: 0 / 5
Which bird am I?
either of two fast-running wren-like passerine birds, Atrichornis clamosus or A. rufescens, that constitute the Australian family Atrichornithidae
Which bird am I?
any African Old World warbler of the genus Sylvietta, having colourful plumage
Which bird am I?
any large shore bird of the genus Limosa, of northern and arctic regions, having long legs and a long upturned bill: family Scolopacidae (sandpipers, etc), order Charadriiformes
Which bird am I?
a grey-and-pink crested bunting, Pyrrhuloxia sinuata, of Central and SW North America, with a short parrot-like bill
Which bird am I?
a European grebe, Podiceps cristatus, having blackish ear tufts and, in the breeding season, a dark brown frill around the head
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In other languages
heron
British English: heron
/ˈhɛrən/ NOUN
A heron is a large bird which has long legs and a long beak, and which eats fish.
- American English: heron /ˈhɛrən/
- Arabic: مَالِكُ الـحَزِّينُ
- Brazilian Portuguese: garça-real
- Chinese: 鹭
- Croatian: čaplja
- Czech: volavka
- Danish: hejre
- Dutch: reiger
- European Spanish: garza
- Finnish: haikara
- French: héron
- German: Reiher
- Greek: ερωδιός
- Italian: airone
- Japanese: サギ 鳥
- Korean: 백로과의 새
- Norwegian: hegre
- Polish: czapla
- European Portuguese: garça-real
- Romanian: bâtlan
- Russian: цапля
- Latin American Spanish: garza
- Swedish: häger
- Thai: นกกระสา
- Turkish: balıkçıl kuşu
- Ukrainian: чапля
- Vietnamese: con diệc
