-
- To save this word, you'll need to log in.
wood pigeon
noun
: a large chiefly European pigeon (Columba palumbus) with a whitish patch on each side of the neck and wings edged with white
called also ringdove
Examples of wood pigeon in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The team selected two carrion crows, two collared doves, and a wood pigeon–similar species to what Neanderthals might have eaten.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 24 July 2024
The bigger dishes are fish- and meat-focused—langoustine, John Dory, red mullet, Tamworth collar chop from his native Wales, wood pigeon, Jersey beef rib—but the team has given the spotlight to more vegetables than at the original, with small plates of pumpkin fritto and wild mushrooms.
—Sarah James, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Mar. 2024
The common wood pigeon is gregarious, often forming very large flocks outside the breeding season.
—Hazlitt, 8 Nov. 2023
On this season’s menu are classics like deer or wood pigeon topped with truffle and Puccia di Langa, an ancient local recipe of polenta and veal with a Marsala sauce.
—Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes, 10 Nov. 2021
Around one corner, a wood pigeon landed, gave us a hard stare, and flew away.
—Nicola Twilley, The New Yorker, 22 Nov. 2021
One of the best, most reliable sources for wild game is D’Artagnan Foods, which imports inspected foods including Scottish pheasant, redlegged partridge, grouse and wood pigeon.
—John Mariani, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2021
The coast is six miles to the north, as the Asturian wood pigeon flies.
—Chiara Goia, National Geographic, 14 Dec. 2019
Instead there will be outdoor baths in tubs hewn out of rock in view of distant rice terraces shimmering neat and domestic as putting greens, giving on to wild forests full of parrots and wood pigeons fat as ducks calling from banyan trees.
—Antonia Quirke, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Nov. 2019
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wood pigeon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1714, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near wood pigeon
Cite this Entry
“Wood pigeon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wood%20pigeon. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
More from Merriam-Webster on wood pigeon
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about wood pigeon
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share