Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

dunlin

Pronunciation: /ˈdʌnlɪn/
Definition of dunlin

noun (plural same or dunlins)

  • a migratory sandpiper with a downcurved bill and (in the breeding season) a reddish-brown back and black belly. It is the commonest small wader of the northern hemisphere.
    • Calidris alpina, family Scolopacidae

Origin:

mid 16th century: probably from dun1 + -ling, from the greyish-brown winter colouring of its upper parts

dunlin in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of dunlin in the US English dictionary