dead bird

noun

A ball which falls over the infielders’ heads for a hit, as if it were a bird shot by a hunter.

“Jones got on board with a dead bird to start the inning.”

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Meanings

noundead bird (plural dead birds)

plural dead birds

  1. slangball gamesA ball which falls over the infielders’ heads for a hit, as if it were a bird shot by a hunter.

    Jones got on board with a dead bird to start the inning.

  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see dead, bird.

    “Bring me the two most precious things in the city,” said God to one of His Angels; and the Angel brought Him the leaden heart and the dead bird.

    1888, Oscar Wilde, “The Happy Prince”, in The Happy Prince and Other Tales
Cite this entry
APA

dead bird. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dead%20bird

MLA

“dead bird.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dead%20bird. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dead bird,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dead%20bird.

Source: dead bird on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.