coo-coo
/ˈkuku/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.00 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
2
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The two-note vocalisation made by the male of the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), or imitation of this by a cuckoo clock.
noun
The repeated vocalisation of various other birds, such as doves.
noun
A loving or affectionate murmuration.
Example Sentences
- "The clocks lining the dream hallway in her mind taunted her with their twisting hands, their broken faces, and some of them, with a cringe-worthy coo-coo, coo-coo squall."
- "From the fishing basket on which he was sitting came the unusual sound of a ‘coo-coo,’ and another spy was caught. The supposed fisherman had been sending the enemy information by means of the carrier pigeons."
- ""Cut it short, sis, cut it short," he would growl at her if she started to murmur sweet "coo-coos" to her affinity stationed on the other end of the wire."
- "They steal to the huts, where the women are pounding in mortars the coos-coos, or corn, watch till the pounders are gone for sieves to searce the meal, and then slily creep to the mortars, take out the meal, and carry it off in their pangs, looking every moment behind them, to see if they are observed or pursued; or they put it into calabashes, and arranging themselves in a row, like the monkeys, convey it from hand to hand, till it is placed in safety."
Etymology
Word Breakdown
- Root: kuuku, kukú
Usage
Inflected Forms
coo-coos (plural)
coocoo (alternative)
coocoos (alternative)
coos-coos (alternative)
cou-cou (alternative)