Illustration of whippoorwill
- whip-poor-will
whippoorwill
noun
whip·poor·will
ˈ(h)wi-pər-ˌwil 
ˌ(h)wi-pər-ˈwil
variants
or less commonly whip-poor-will
plural whippoorwills also whip-poor-wills
: a nocturnal nightjar (Antrostomus vociferus synonym Caprimulgus vociferus) of chiefly eastern North America with a loud repeated call suggestive of its name
Examples of whippoorwill in a Sentence
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John Boy locks himself in a bedroom to scribble his thoughts about trains and oceans and whippoorwills in a Big Chief tablet, telling no one in the family about his secret dream of being a writer, until his mother finds the notebooks and confronts him.
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Literary Hub, 22 Dec. 2025
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Literary Hub, 22 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Whippoorwill.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whippoorwill. Accessed 4 Jan. 2026.
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