birdie

1 of 2

noun

bird·​ie ˈbər-dē 

plural birdies

1

: a little bird

2

: a golf score of one stroke less than par on a hole compare eagle entry 1

3

: shuttlecock

In Asia, badminton is an obsession … . In one preliminary match in Malaysia, 21,000 people came out to watch the speeding birdie.

—Jennifer Boeth

birdie

2 of 2

verb

birdied; birdieing

transitive verb

: to score a birdie on

Examples of birdie in a Sentence

Noun

I made a birdie on the fifth hole.

I made birdie on the fifth hole.

Verb

She birdied the second hole.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Following a missed birdie putt on the par-4 16th, a fan tried heckling and hinted at knowing how the putt was going to break. —Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 4 Mar. 2025

Yeah, the eight birdies in 11 holes while hitting three fairways to open Sunday was the most impressive golf played at Torrey this week. —Brody Miller, The Athletic, 19 Feb. 2025

Verb

Aberg birdied four of his last six holes in the final round of the Genesis, making a putt just inside 7 feet on the final hole to provide a one-stroke victory over Maverick McNealy in the $20 million signature event. —Kirk Kenney, Orlando Sentinel, 17 Feb. 2025

Aberg collected himself and birdied five of his next 11 holes, including three in a row on 13, 14 and 15, to soar back to the top of the leaderboard. —Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 21 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1768, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1921, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for birdie

• gurdy
• purdy
• sturdy
• thirty
• wordy