pewee

P3E1W4E1E1
/ˈpi.wi/

noun

Any of various tyrant flycatchers of the genus Contopus.

Similar
peeweepeewitpewitwood peweeContopus virens
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Meanings

nounpewee (countable and uncountable, plural pewees)

plural pewees

  1. countableAny of various tyrant flycatchers of the genus Contopus.
  2. UScountabledialectalA woodcock.
  3. uncountableAn American version of the children's game gilli-danda.

    He was clumsy at the new games, but his teachers did not hoot at him. Instead they quarreled for the privilege of showing him how to hold the pewee stick. There are several schools of technique in pewee.

    1932, John Steinbeck, Junius Maltby

Synonyms & antonyms

nounsmall olive-colored woodland flycatchers of eastern North America

Similar
peeweepeewitpewitwood peweeContopus virens
Broader
New World flycatcherflycatchertyrant flycatcher
Also see
peeweepeewitwood pewee

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Imitative of the vocalisations of various birds. For the passerine, originally imitative of the vocalisations of the eastern wood pewee, later extended to other members of the same genus.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

pewee. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pewee

MLA

“pewee.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pewee. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pewee,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pewee.

Source: pewee on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.