albatross

noun

al·​ba·​tross ˈal-bə-ˌtrȯs 

-ˌträs

plural albatross or albatrosses

1

: any of a family (Diomedeidae) of large web-footed seabirds that have long slender wings, are excellent gliders, and include the largest seabirds

2

a

: something that causes persistent deep concern or anxiety

b

: something that greatly hinders accomplishment : encumbrance

Fame has become an albatross that prevents her from leading a normal life.

3

chiefly British, golf : a score of three under par made on a hole : double eagle

The first play-off at Augusta followed the most famous single stroke in Masters history, Sarazen's albatross, or double eagle as the Americans prefer to describe such accidents of fortune, at the 15th.

—P. A. Ward-Thomas

Illustration of albatross

• albatross 1

Did you know?

Why is albatross used to refer to a burden?

The albatross is an exceedingly large seabird, having a wingspan as much as 11 feet across. It is a magnificent glider, capable of staying aloft for hours at a time without flapping its wings, and tends to remain almost entirely at sea, typically coming ashore only to breed.

In Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s 1798 poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the titular mariner kills an albatross that has been following his ship, bringing down a curse that leads to the death of all other crew members. As a punishment, the crew hang the dead bird from the mariner’s neck, and he remains alive to witness the ship’s fate unfold. This potent emblem led to the coining of a metaphorical meaning for albatross as something that causes anxiety or guilt or that burdens and encumbers.

Examples of albatross in a Sentence

Fame has become an albatross that prevents her from leading a normal and happy life.

Fame has become an albatross around her neck.

Recent Examples on the Web

At best, our rights as trans people are treated as a political liability, an albatross Democrats dare not drape around their necks, even after naked bigotry and calls for anti-trans violence have become the modern Republican Party’s most defining traits. —Samantha Riedel, Them, 24 Oct. 2024

Of the other six birds, two more were Atlantic yellow-nosed albatrosses. —Danielle Beurteaux, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Oct. 2024

The cause of the albatross’s misery was evident: it was caught in a weather balloon. —Danielle Beurteaux, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Oct. 2024

Imagine snorkeling with playful sea lions, walking alongside giant tortoises, and watching the famous blue-footed boobies dance right in front of you or the waved albatross performing their (goofy-looking) mating ritual. —Josh Rivera, USA TODAY, 6 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

earlier albitrosse, albetrosse "albatross, frigate bird," alteration (with the first syllables probably reshaped after Latin albus "white" and its derivatives) of alcatras, alcatrace "pelican, frigate bird," or of its source, 16th-century Italian alcatrazzo (borrowed from Spanish) or Spanish alcatraz "pelican" or Portuguese alcatraz "brown booby (Sula leucogaster), frigate bird," both borrowed from Arabic al-ġaṭṭās "diver, sea eagle," derivative from the base of the verb ġaṭṭa "to immerse, dip, plunge"; (sense 2) after the albatross in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," which the mariner kills and is then forced to wear around his neck as expiation for his crime; (sense 3) by analogy with birdie entry 1 and eagle entry 1 as names for golfing scores

Note: The reflection of Arabic ġ as c in Spanish rather than g has been explained as through influence of late medieval Spanish alcaduz "bucket of a waterwheel" (later arcaduz), the throat pouch of a pelican suggesting such a bucket.

First Known Use

1672, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing albatross

• black-footed albatross
• wandering albatross

Kids Definition

albatross

noun

al·​ba·​tross ˈal-bə-ˌtrȯs 

-ˌträs

plural albatross or albatrosses

: any of various large web-footed seabirds that are related to the petrels and include the largest birds of the sea