parrot

plural parrots

1. A kind of bird, many species of which are colorful and able to mimic human speech, of the order Psittaciformes or (narrowly) of the family Psittacidae.

   I bought a wonderful parrot at the pet store.

   2 more examples

   Mrs. Merdle was at home, and was in her nest of crimson and gold, with the parrot on a neighbouring stem watching her with his head on one side, as if he took her for another splendid parrot of a larger species.

   1855 December – 1857 June, Charles Dickens, “Mrs. Merdle’s Complaint”, in Little Dorrit, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1857, →OCLC, 1st book (Poverty), page 290

   This parrot is no more. It has ceased to be. It's expired and gone to see its maker. This is a late parrot. It's a stiff. Bereft of life, it rests in peace. If you hadn't nailed it to the perch it would be pushing up the daisies. It's run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. This is an ex-parrot.

   1969 December 7, “Full Frontal Nudity”, in Monty Python's Flying Circus, season 1, episode 8, spoken by Mr Praline (John Cleese), Dead Parrot sketch

   Synonyms: psittacine, popinjay

2. figurativelyA parroter; a person who repeats the words or ideas of others.

   What kind of a parrot are you? He just said that.

   1 more example

   In this distribution of functions, the scholar is the delegated intellect. In the right state, he is, Man Thinking. In the degenerate state, when the victim of society, he tends to become a mere thinker, or, still worse, the parrot of other men’s thinking.

   1837, Ralph Waldo Emerson, The American Scholar

   Synonyms: copycat, mimic

3. archaicA puffin.

   Synonyms: sea-parrot, tomnoddy

4. obsoletegeographychannel coal.
5. slangaeronauticsA transponder.

present singular third person parrots · participle present parroting · participle past parroted · past parroted · participle past parrotted · past parrotted

1. transitiveTo repeat (exactly what has just been said) without necessarily showing understanding, in the manner of a parrot.

   The interviewee merely parroted the views of her tabloid.

   3 more examples

   So when political leaders parrot the tobacco company line, say cigarettes are not necessarily addictive, and oppose our efforts to keep tobacco away from our children, they continue to cater to powerful interests, but they're not standing up for parents and children.

   1996 June 15, Bill Clinton, Presidential Radio Address

   While interviewing officers, some prosecutors will tell them what the law will require that he, the prosecutor, establish through his witnesses. The officer-witness will then parrot back those requirements, making his testimony fit the requirements of the law.

   1999 January, Larry Cunningham, “Taking on Testilying”, in Criminal Justice Ethics, volume 18, →DOI, pages 26–40

   But residents say steady Russian military pressure – combined now with an American president’s apparent parroting of Kremlin talking points about the war, and his push for a ceasefire that could include Ukrainian territorial losses – means Russia is also winning in a different way, by escalating Ukrainian anxiety.

   2025 February 21, Scott Peterson, “Once-occupied Ukraine towns try to stay defiant amid fear over Russia gains”, in The Christian Science Monitor, archived from the original on 28 Feb 2025

   Synonyms: ape, copycat

plural Parrots

1. A surname transferred from the given name.