sooty tern

noun

: a widely distributed tern (Onychoprion fuscatus) of tropical oceans that is blackish above and white below

called also wideawake

Examples of sooty tern in a Sentence

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.
Migratory birds stop at the island in the spring and fall, and several species breed there, including sooty terns and laughing gulls. — Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Dec. 2024 As part of the annual rite, men would climb down the volcano’s 1,000-foot cliffs and swim into the sea to a nearby islet, racing to be the first to return to the village with an egg of a migratory bird, the sooty tern. — Mark Johanson, Travel + Leisure, 19 Jan. 2024 The 16-acre Bush Key is an undeveloped island where up to 80,000 sooty terns and 4,500 brown noddies take up residence during the breeding season (February to September). — Skye Sherman, Travel + Leisure, 20 Feb. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1785, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sooty tern was in 1785

Rhymes for sooty tern

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Browse Nearby Words

sooty stripe
sooty tern
sooty wing
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Cite this Entry

“Sooty tern.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sooty%20tern. Accessed 31 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on sooty tern

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about sooty tern

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