Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

frigatebird

/ˈfɹɪ.ɡətˌbɝd/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.11 in modern English

Syllables: frigate-bird
IPA: /ˈfɹɪ.ɡətˌbɝd/

18

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

2

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of five species of bird in the genus Fregata, the only genus in the family Fregatidae.

Example Sentences

"Unlike most seabirds, frigatebirds are not able to alight on the water."
"The oceanic frigatebirds are represented in Australia by three species: the Great and Lesser Frigatebirds and endemic Christmas Island Frigatebird (pictured)."
"Often called man o' war birds, they are notorious as piratical cleptomaniacs that steal food from other birds at every opportunity. This reputation is justified, but frigatebirds are also capable of an 'honest' living. It would seem that a frigatebird can discriminate between a bird with a full gullet and one which is empty. An unlucky booby or tropicbird may be plucked out of the air, dangled by the tail-tip and shaken until it regurgitates its food, which the frigatebird then makes off with."

Etymology

From frigate + bird, a partial calque of translingual Fregata.

Inflected Forms

frigatebirds (plural) frigate bird (alternative)

Phrases

Ascension frigatebird Christmas frigatebird Christmas Island frigatebird great frigatebird lesser frigatebird magnificent frigatebird

Questions

How do you pronounce frigatebird?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈfɹɪ.ɡətˌbɝd/.
What does frigatebird mean?: Any of five species of bird in the genus Fregata, the only genus in the family Fregatidae.
Where does frigatebird come from?: From frigate + bird, a partial calque of translingual Fregata.

How to pronounce frigatebird

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