Illustration of woodpecker
woodpecker
noun
wood·peck·er
ˈwu̇d-ˌpe-kər 
: any of numerous birds (family Picidae) with zygodactyl feet, stiff spiny tail feathers used in climbing or resting on tree trunks, a usually extensible tongue, a very hard bill used to drill the bark or wood of trees for insect food or to excavate nesting cavities, and generally showy parti-colored plumage
Examples of woodpecker in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Whistling warblers and rat-tat-tatting woodpeckers accompanied the splish-splash of our kayak paddles through the Cache River Wetlands—one of the northernmost bald cypress swamps in the United States.
—
Jess Hoffert, Midwest Living, 15 May 2026
The aye-aye, in essence, became a woodpecker by primate standards.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 10 May 2026
That there is no need to fill consciousness at all moments with the artificial urgencies of screens, of emails, of texts, of social media; the real urgencies of the bright-eyed woodpecker above my head will always be vastly more interesting.
—Literary Hub, 1 May 2026
These tunnels can weaken structures, allow moisture to seep in, and attract woodpeckers looking for larvae.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for woodpecker
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Jess Hoffert, Midwest Living, 15 May 2026
The aye-aye, in essence, became a woodpecker by primate standards.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 10 May 2026
That there is no need to fill consciousness at all moments with the artificial urgencies of screens, of emails, of texts, of social media; the real urgencies of the bright-eyed woodpecker above my head will always be vastly more interesting.
—Literary Hub, 1 May 2026
These tunnels can weaken structures, allow moisture to seep in, and attract woodpeckers looking for larvae.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for woodpecker
Cite this Entry
“Woodpecker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/woodpecker. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
woodpecker
noun
wood·peck·er
-ˌpek-ər
: any of numerous brightly marked birds with strong claws and stiff tail feathers used in climbing or resting on tree trunks, a long flexible tongue, and a very hard bill used to drill into trees to get insects for food and to dig out holes for nesting
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