tern

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++

Related topics: Birds

tern /tɜːn $ tɜːrn/ noun [countable]  HBBa black and white sea bird that has long wings and a tail with two points 燕鸥〔一种海鸟〕

Examples from the Corpus

tern• We identified two different types of albatross, four species of petrel, and a tern.• Only the egrets, spoonbill, and least tern, however, faced actual extinction before help arrived.• They have been known to swim to an offshore tern colony and kill dozens of chicks and adults in a single night.• Rare species like the roseate tern, which breeds on our rocky islands, are severely threatened in their wintering areas.• The Forster's tern occurs year-round in our area.• This has to be the most elegant and beautiful of all the tern tribe.• The tern is swift, turning tightly among the flock to avoid the pirate.Origin tern (1600-1700) From a Scandinavian language

tern nounChinese  

wings and bird Corpus white has and black sea a that long

tern
tern /tɜːn $ tɜːrn/ noun [countable]a black and white sea bird that has long wings and a tail with two points

ternBrE /tɜːn/ 🔊NAmE /tɜːrn/ 🔊 nouna bird with long pointed wings and a tail with two points that lives near the sea 燕鸥