beaks

plural of beak
1
as in mouths
the jaws of a bird together with their hornlike covering the bird cracked the walnut shell with its beak and ate its nut

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2
as in noses
the part of the face bearing the nostrils and nasal cavity the man's prominent beak gives him a somewhat aquiline appearance

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3
as in judges
chiefly British a public official having authority to decide questions of law received a stiff sentence from one of the harshest beaks in all of London

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of beaks His Backwater series mallards have heads and beaks at or below water level. Joe Arterburn, Outdoor Life, 14 Nov. 2024 One goose, named Edes, was preening quietly; others were resting with their beaks pointed tailward, nestled into their feathers. Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024 Drought Conditions Linked to Beak Size The researchers knew from earlier work that drought conditions produce birds with thicker beaks, which, in turn results in lower frequencies. Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 11 Oct. 2024 That population, over time, would develop short, thick beaks, good for crushing seeds. Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 11 Oct. 2024 Longer, thinner beaks are good for hunting insects, which are rarer in prolonged dry conditions. Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 11 Oct. 2024 Earlier studies on finches established that their beaks adapt to changes in their ecological environments, including habitat loss and drought. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 10 Oct. 2024 Every subsequent drought event is predicted to make their beaks increasingly thicker, which should further slow the rate and decrease the bandwidth of their songs. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 10 Oct. 2024 Using decades worth of quantitative research on the changes that the beaks of Darwin’s finches undergo due to various environmental changes, the team modeled how beaks would likely change into the future. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 10 Oct. 2024

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“Beaks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beaks. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

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