bobwhite

noun

bob·​white ˈbäb-ˈ(h)wīt How to pronounce bobwhite (audio)
: any of a genus (Colinus) of New World quail
especially : a popular game bird (C. virginianus) of eastern and central North America having mottled chiefly reddish-brown plumage

Examples of bobwhite in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web After seeing mysterious population crashes in the Rolling Plains region, a historic hotspot for Northern bobwhites, hunters started thinking about solutions. Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 18 July 2024 After several years in which the state followed the national trend of alarming drops in harvest totals and hunter numbers, near-ideal weather and nesting conditions brought the bobwhites back … at least for the time being. Brent Frazee, Kansas City Star, 31 Jan. 2024 Now, the governor is trying to bring back the northern bobwhite, also known simply as quail, to the Mountain State by reintroducing 21,000 of them this year in the state’s biggest repopulation campaign to date. Kris Maher, WSJ, 26 Sep. 2022 Craig is sure enough a bird dog man, and has hunted everything from grouse in Utah to ducks in Arkansas to wild bobwhite quail here in Georgia. Durrell Smith, Outdoor Life, 29 Dec. 2020 The current efforts not only will result in the return of the bobwhite, but also will aid songbirds and pollinators. Rex Nelson, Arkansas Online, 27 Dec. 2020 But eventually Ruger flushed a poor-flying bobwhite and my friend managed to get off a quick shot. Durrell Smith, Outdoor Life, 20 Nov. 2020 My favorite, a portrait of a Brittany with a bobwhite in her mouth, is missing. Natalie Krebs, Field & Stream, 5 Oct. 2020 The efforts of hunters haven’t been enough to slow the decline, and in many places there are no longer enough northern bobwhites to hunt. Jordan Sillars, National Review, 23 Nov. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bobwhite.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

imitative

First Known Use

1819, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bobwhite was in 1819

Dictionary Entries Near bobwhite

Cite this Entry

“Bobwhite.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bobwhite. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

bobwhite

noun
bob·​white (ˈ)bäb-ˈhwīt How to pronounce bobwhite (audio)
-ˈwīt
: any of several American quails
especially : a gray, white, and reddish game bird of the eastern and central U.S.

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