fowl

1 of 2

noun

plural fowl or fowls
1
: a bird of any kind compare waterfowl, wildfowl
2
a
: a cock or hen of the domestic chicken (Gallus gallus)
especially : an adult hen
b
: any of several domesticated (see domesticate entry 1 sense 2) or wild gallinaceous birds compare guinea fowl, jungle fowl
3
: the meat of fowls used as food
roasted fowl

fowl

2 of 2

verb

fowled; fowling; fowls

intransitive verb

: to seek, catch, or kill wildfowl

Examples of fowl in a Sentence

Noun I spotted a long-legged fowl by the water's edge.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
More than 145 million chickens, ducks, turkeys and other fowl have been slaughtered across the United States since the outbreak began in January 2022. Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA TODAY, 28 Jan. 2025 Avoid changing the color of a rabbit or a chicken There are several stipulations in Massachusetts law about baby chicks, ducklings, rabbits and other fowl in terms of their sale, barter or gifting. Ashlyn Messier, Fox News, 21 Nov. 2024 Wealthy English, who loved to impress guests with exotic birds as the meal’s centerpiece, named the fowl after the far-off place some merchants had carted it from: Turkey. Kendra Nordin Beato, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Nov. 2024 Scientists examined tools used to prepare food hundreds of thousands of years ago and found substances indicating that ancient humans ate not only meat, including rodents and water fowl, but also a range of plants such as grasses, nuts, wheat, oats, rye, barley, water chestnuts, and water lilies. Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 13 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for fowl 

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English foul, from Old English fugel; akin to Old High German fogal bird, and probably to Old English flēogan to fly — more at fly

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fowl was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near fowl

Cite this Entry

“Fowl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fowl. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.

Kids Definition

fowl

1 of 2 noun
plural fowl or fowls
1
a
: a domestic cock or hen
especially : a full-grown hen
b
: any of several domesticated or wild birds related to the common domestic chicken
2
: the meat of fowl used as food

fowl

2 of 2 verb
: to hunt, catch, or kill wildfowl
fowler noun

More from Merriam-Webster on fowl

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