plover

noun

plo·​ver ˈplə-vər  ˈplō- 

plural plover or plovers

1

: any of a family (Charadriidae) of shorebirds that differ from the sandpipers in having a short hard-tipped bill and usually a stouter more compact build

2

: any of various birds (such as a turnstone or sandpiper) related to the plovers

Examples of plover in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The female plover comes home to competitive piping plover dating scene: In addition to Imani, Montrose has welcomed 2-year-old Pippin, a returning male from Green Bay, Wisconsin, and two other males, originally from Michigan, that were passing by. —Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 12 May 2025

Take a dip in the water off picturesque Park Point Beach and get adventurous by touring the shoreline and spotting plovers from an inflatable kayak rented from Zenith Adventure or Day Tripper of Duluth. —Explore Minnesota, AFAR Media, 30 Apr. 2025

Bennett went online and quickly turned up a video of modern plovers pecking into the ground, hunting for food. —Amanda Schupak, CNN Money, 25 Apr. 2025

Restoring Native Grasslands to Help Birds Olivia Box July 15, 2021 Grassland birds, such as the prairie chicken, plover, and bobolink, need a complex environment of varying structure, area, and grass types. —The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 22 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French plover, pluvier, from Vulgar Latin *pluviarius, from Latin pluvia rain — more at pluvial

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing plover

• golden plover
• piping plover
• snowy plover

Rhymes for plover

• cover
• hover
• discover
• hardcover
• recover
• thereover
• uncover
• rediscover
• undercover

Kids Definition

plover

noun

plo·​ver ˈplə-vər  ˈplō-vər 

plural plover or plovers

: any of numerous shorebirds differing from the related sandpipers in having shorter bills