Library / English Dictionary

PARROT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Usually brightly colored zygodactyl tropical birds with short hooked beaks and the ability to mimic sounds

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("parrot" is a kind of...):

bird (warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "parrot"):

popinjay (an archaic term for a parrot)

poll; poll parrot (a tame parrot)

African gray; African grey; Psittacus erithacus (commonly domesticated grey parrot with red-and-black tail and white face; native to equatorial Africa)

amazon (mainly green tropical American parrots)

macaw (long-tailed brilliantly colored parrot of Central America and South America; among the largest and showiest of parrots)

kea; Nestor notabilis (large brownish-green New Zealand parrot)

cockatoo (white or light-colored crested parrot of the Australian region; often kept as cage birds)

cockateel; cockatiel; cockatoo parrot; Nymphicus hollandicus (small grey Australian parrot with a yellow crested head)

lovebird (small African parrot noted for showing affection for their mates)

lory (small brightly colored Australasian parrots having a brush-tipped tongue for feeding on nectar and soft fruits)

parakeet; paraquet; paroquet; parrakeet; parroket; parroquet (any of numerous small slender long-tailed parrots)

Holonyms ("parrot" is a member of...):

order Psittaciformes; Psittaciformes (an order of birds including parrots and amazons and cockatoos and lorikeets and lories and macaws and parakeets)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A copycat who does not understand the words or acts being imitated

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("parrot" is a kind of...):

ape; aper; copycat; emulator; imitator (someone who copies the words or behavior of another)

Derivation:

parrot (repeat mindlessly)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Repeat mindlessly

Example:

The students parroted the teacher's words

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "parrot" is one way to...):

echo; repeat (to say again or imitate)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

parrot (a copycat who does not understand the words or acts being imitated)

Credits

 Context examples: 

The night parrot is sacred to First Nation peoples, and experts say Australia now has a second chance to save a bird that was once thought to have died out.

(Aboriginal Rangers Find Evidence of One of Australia’s Rarest Birds, VOA)

“Stand by to go about,” the parrot would scream.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

The parrot alone was enough to drive her distracted, for he soon felt that she did not admire him, and revenged himself by being as mischievous as possible.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

It is a small, green parrot with a yellow belly and large head.

(Aboriginal Rangers Find Evidence of One of Australia’s Rarest Birds, VOA)

Here's Cap'n Flint—I calls my parrot Cap'n Flint, after the famous buccaneer—here's Cap'n Flint predicting success to our v'yage.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Jo liked his good breeding, and didn't mind having a laugh at Aunt March, so she gave him a lively description of the fidgety old lady, her fat poodle, the parrot that talked Spanish, and the library where she reveled.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

We have surveyed in areas that traditional owners knew there were night parrots there, said Watson.

(Aboriginal Rangers Find Evidence of One of Australia’s Rarest Birds, VOA)

At the sharp, clipping tone of the parrot, the sleepers awoke and sprang up; and with a mighty oath, the voice of Silver cried, “Who goes?”

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Amy was on the point of crying, but Laurie slyly pulled the parrot's tail, which caused Polly to utter an astonished croak and call out, Bless my boots! in such a funny way, that she laughed instead.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The mysterious night parrot, a nocturnal, ground-dwelling creature, was thought to have died out due to a loss of habitat, bushfires and attacks by feral cats.

(Aboriginal Rangers Find Evidence of One of Australia’s Rarest Birds, VOA)