butcherbird
"butcherbird" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“butcherbird” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of the magpie-like birds in the genus Cracticus, of Australia and New Guinea.
Corpus desk
Index EN-butcherbird · butcherbird · English
butcherbird · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 11 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "B" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | butcherbird |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “butcherbird” in English
Rare enough to double-check
butcherbird is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
butcherbird has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From butcher + bird, from its habit of hanging its prey. The correct English form is butcherbird, spelled B-U-T-C-H-E-R-B-I-R-D.
Definition
- 1Any of the magpie-like birds in the genus Cracticus, of Australia and New Guinea.
- 2Any of the shrikes in the genus Lanius.
- 3Any of the shrikes in the genus Lanius.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how butcherbird appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
A butcher bird has stirred, tuned its flute with a few preparatory notes.
A short way off, two male butcher birds, black and white like magpies, were calling antiphonally across a ravine.
Etymology
From butcher + bird, from its habit of hanging its prey.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.