# yardbird

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈjɑːd.bəːd/

## Definitions
1. A chicken.
2. A person who is imprisoned.
3. A soldier who is required to perform menial work on the grounds of a military base.

## Etymology
From yard + bird. Attested since 1956 in the sense of ‘convict,’ derived from the idea of prison yards. During World War II, it meant ‘basic trainee’ among the armed forces.

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