pintail

noun

pin·​tail ˈpin-ˌtāl How to pronounce pintail (audio)
plural pintail or pintails
: a bird having elongated central tail feathers
especially : a slender long-necked duck (Anas acuta) of the northern hemisphere with the breeding male having a brown head, a white breast with a white line continuing up the side of the neck, chiefly gray upperparts, and a long black tail and with the female having chiefly mottled brown plumage

Examples of pintail 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.
In recent years, some hunters have been frustrated by the restrictive bag limit while encountering numerous pintails in the field. Sage Marshall, Field & Stream, 23 May 2024 Canvasback Duck Distribution Unlike pintails, widgeon, and green-wing teal, canvasback ducks are almost exclusively a bird of North America, found in all four flyways. M.d. Johnson, Field & Stream, 8 Nov. 2023 Other interesting sightings were nine Northern pintails at the Monomoy Connector Beach, a hooded merganser at the Pogorelc Sanctuary in West Barnstable, a black skimmer at Menauhant Beach in Falmouth, and a white-eyed vireo at The Knob in Falmouth. BostonGlobe.com, 12 Aug. 2023 The daily bag limit in each zone can include no more than four mallards (of which two may be hens), three wood ducks, two canvasbacks, two redheads, two black ducks and one pintail. Paul A. Smith, Journal Sentinel, 22 Apr. 2023 See all Example Sentences for pintail 

Word History

First Known Use

1768, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pintail was in 1768

Dictionary Entries Near pintail

Cite this Entry

“Pintail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pintail. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

pintail

noun
pin·​tail ˈpin-ˌtāl How to pronounce pintail (audio)
plural pintail or pintails
: a bird (as a duck or grouse) with long central tail feathers

More from Merriam-Webster on pintail

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!