TOP

Definition of pigeon noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

pigeon

noun
 
/ˈpɪdʒɪn/
 
/ˈpɪdʒɪn/
Idioms
jump to other results
  1. a fat grey and white bird with short legs. Pigeons are common in cities and also live in woods and fields where people shoot them for sport or food.
    • the sound of pigeons cooing
    • A pigeon strutted along the roof, cooing rhythmically.
    compare dove1 see also carrier pigeon, clay pigeon, homing pigeon, stool pigeon, wood pigeonTopics Birdsb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • carrier
    • homing
    • racing
    … of pigeons
    • flock
    pigeon + verb
    • fly
    • nest
    • roost
    pigeon + noun
    • droppings
    • shit
    • coop
    See full entry
    Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French pijon, denoting a young bird, especially a young dove, from an alteration of late Latin pipio(n-), ‘young cheeping bird’, of imitative origin.
Idioms
be somebody’s pigeon
  1. (British English, old-fashioned) to be somebody’s responsibility or business
put/set the cat among the pigeons
  1. (British English) to say or do something that is likely to cause trouble
    • Then she told them she was dropping out of college. That really set the cat among the pigeons.
See pigeon in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
generic
adjective
 
 
From the Word list
Oxford 5000
C1
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day