# turkey

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈtɜːki/ · frequency rank #2,706

## Definitions
1. The guinea fowl (family Numididae).
2. A bird in the genus Meleagris with a fan-shaped tail and wattled neck.
3. A bird in the genus Meleagris with a fan-shaped tail and wattled neck.
4. The flesh or meat of this bird eaten as food.
5. 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)).
6. An act of throwing three strikes in a row.
7. A patient feigning symptoms; a person faking illness or injury; a malingerer.
8. A pack carried by a lumberman; a bindle; also, a large travel bag, a suitcase.
9. A failure.
10. A foolish or inept person.
11. A prostitute.

## Etymology
Clipping of turkey-cock and turkey-hen, originally denoting the guinea fowl, an African bird that was first imported to Europe through Turkey, but there is some controversy over the origin. The word was then transferred to the superficially similar North American bird Meleagris gallopavo.

## Easily confused with
- **turned** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/turkey-vs-turned)
- **turner** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/turkey-vs-turner)
- **turret** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/turkey-vs-turret)
- **Turkic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/turkey-vs-turkic)
- **Turkmen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/turkey-vs-turkmen)
- **Trey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trey-vs-turkey)
- **Turk** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/turk-vs-turkey)
- **tucker** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tucker-vs-turkey)
- **tourney** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tourney-vs-turkey)

## Common misspellings (9)
`trukey`, `tturkey`, `tukrey`, `tureky`, `turkeyy`, `turkkey`, `turkye`, `turrkey`, `utrkey`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/turkey