Turkey

/ˈtɜːki/ · noun

Meaning

(countable, originally, now obsolete) The guinea fowl (family Numididae)..

Definitions by Sense

1. (countable, originally, now obsolete) The guinea fowl (family Numididae).
2. (countable) A bird in the genus Meleagris with a fan-shaped tail and wattled neck.
3. (uncountable) The flesh or meat of this bird eaten as food.
4. (countable) With a distinguishing word: a bird resembling the Meleagris gallopavo (for example, the brush turkey or bush turkey (Alectura lathami), and the water turkey (Anhinga anhinga)).
5. (countable, bowling) An act of throwing three strikes in a row.
6. (countable, medicine, slang, derogatory) A patient feigning symptoms; a person faking illness or injury; a malingerer.
7. (countable, Australia, US, slang, dated) A pack carried by a lumberman; a bindle; also, a large travel bag, a suitcase.
8. (countable, US, slang) A failure.

Example Sentences

All week after Thanksgiving, I had turkey sandwiches for lunch.

Mumford (1970) noted that the terms ‘crock’, ‘gomer’, and ‘turkey’, were sometimes utilized by interns to designate different types of undesirable patients, and sometimes used synonymously.

That film was a turkey.

And despite the gross incompetence of Hemmings' direction, the ludicrous script, and the heavy-handed acting, there remains a stellar reason to see and enjoy Just a Gigolo: David Bowie. David Bowie is a great actor, and not even this turkey can obscure that fact.

There were a few turkeys. In the rush to present a futuristic vision, the railways' heritage was largely forgotten and we ended up with new stations at Euston and at Coventry, its brash sidekick which I particularly loathe, although (of course) it won design awards.

The turkey cut in front of me and then berated me for running into him.

Shorty think she slick, but everybody know she a turkey.

Synonyms for turkey

Antonyms for turkey

Related Words

Word Forms

• turkeys
• turkies
• turkie

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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