Illustration of dodo
- dodo 1a
plural dodoes or dodos
1
a
: an extinct heavy flightless bird (Raphus cucullatus synonym Didus ineptus of the family Columbidae) of the island of Mauritius that was larger than a turkey and was related to the pigeon
b
: an extinct flightless bird (Raphus solitarius) of the island of Réunion similar to and closely related to the dodo
2
a
: one hopelessly behind the times
b
: a stupid person
Synonyms
Examples of dodo in a Sentence
That dodo can't do anything right.
I feel like a complete dodo.
Recent Examples on the Web
The resulting animal will be a close approximation of a thylacine—or, in the company’s other de-extinction projects, a modern woolly mammoth or dodo.
—
Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Oct. 2024
Projects to resurrect animals that have gone extinct more recently — the mammoth, dodo and Tasmanian tiger — are reaching an inflection point, although the goal is to create a hybrid approximation of those creatures, not carbon copies.
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 5 Oct. 2024
With the funding, the company plans to, for example, rewrite elephant DNA with mammoth genes to create a mammoth-like embryo, and the company’s goal has expanded to editing and re-writing DNA to restore or preserve several extinct animals like the dodo bird or Tasmanian tiger.
—Stephen Pastis, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
After Thursday’s goodbye, that atmosphere has gone the way of the dodo bird, the wooly mammoth, the saber-tooth tiger.
—Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 26 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dodo 
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Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Oct. 2024
Projects to resurrect animals that have gone extinct more recently — the mammoth, dodo and Tasmanian tiger — are reaching an inflection point, although the goal is to create a hybrid approximation of those creatures, not carbon copies.
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 5 Oct. 2024
With the funding, the company plans to, for example, rewrite elephant DNA with mammoth genes to create a mammoth-like embryo, and the company’s goal has expanded to editing and re-writing DNA to restore or preserve several extinct animals like the dodo bird or Tasmanian tiger.
—Stephen Pastis, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
After Thursday’s goodbye, that atmosphere has gone the way of the dodo bird, the wooly mammoth, the saber-tooth tiger.
—Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 26 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dodo
Dictionary Entries Near dodo
Cite this Entry
“Dodo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dodo. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dodo
noun
do·do
ˈdōd-ō 
plural dodoes or dodos
1
: a large heavy flightless extinct bird related to the pigeons and formerly found on some of the islands of the Indian Ocean
2
a
: a person who is hopelessly behind the times
b
: a stupid person
Etymology
from Portuguese doudo, name given by Portuguese sailors to the bird, from doudo (adjective) "silly, stupid"
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