Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

birdbrain

/ˈbɚd.bɹeɪn/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.28 in modern English

Syllables: bird-brain
IPA: /ˈbɚd.bɹeɪn/

14

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Someone who is not intelligent.

Colloquial

Example Sentences

"That birdbrain just drove right through three rows of traffic cones and into the bushes."
"Comedienne Carol Channing, 29, admitted that a grave personal problem had grown out of her playing the role of birdbrained Lorelei Lee in Broadway’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. People seemed to be convinced that she is a birdbrain offstage, too: “I won't say that people actually think I’m just two steps removed from outright idiocy, but they do seem to have adopted a protective attitude towards me...”"

Etymology

From bird + brain, implying that birds, having small brains, are unintelligent (although this is untrue for many birds).

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈbɚd.bɹeɪn/
British English: /ˈbɜː(ɹ)d.bɹeɪn/

Usage

Colloquial

Inflected Forms

birdbrains (plural)

Synonyms

addle-head addlehead loon

Questions

How do you pronounce birdbrain?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈbɚd.bɹeɪn/.
What does birdbrain mean?: Someone who is not intelligent.
Where does birdbrain come from?: From bird + brain, implying that birds, having small brains, are unintelligent (although this is untrue for many birds).

How to pronounce birdbrain

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “birdbrain”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈbɚd.bɹeɪn/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “birdbrain”.
Repeat and practice — Say “birdbrain” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.