birdie

1 of 2

noun

bird·​ie ˈbər-dē 

plural birdies

1

: a little bird

2

: a golf score of one stroke less than par on a hole compare eagle entry 1

3

: shuttlecock

In Asia, badminton is an obsession … . In one preliminary match in Malaysia, 21,000 people came out to watch the speeding birdie.

—Jennifer Boeth

birdie

2 of 2

verb

birdied; birdieing

transitive verb

: to score a birdie on

Examples of birdie in a Sentence

Noun

I made a birdie on the fifth hole.

I made birdie on the fifth hole.

Verb

She birdied the second hole.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Last week Reyes fired a personal best three-under 33 over the Bernardo Heights Red front nine, showing her consistency by collecting three birdies and the rest pars. —Steve Brand, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Sep. 2025

The Northern Irishman claimed his second Irish Open title at The K Club, sinking a clutch birdie in a playoff against Sweden's Joakim Lagergren. —Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025

Verb

The 29-year-old American hit his opening tee shot out of bounds but rebounded by birdieing four of his first nine holes on the day. —Jacob Lev, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2025

Rory McIlroy with a ridiculous up-and-down for birdie off the grandstand sign on 18. —Kendall Capps, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1768, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1921, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for birdie

• gurdy
• purdy
• sturdy
• thirty
• wordy