Meanings
nounshrike (plural shrikes)
plural shrikes
- Any of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae which are known for their habit of catching other birds and small animals and impaling the uneaten portions of their bodies on thorns.
Synonyms: butcherbird
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae which are known for their habit of catching other birds and small animals and impaling the uneaten portions of their bodies on thorns.
Similar
Also see
Origin
- Old Englishsċrīc“shrike, thrush”
- Middle English*schrike
- Englishshrike
From Middle English *schrike, *schryke, from Old English sċrīc (“shrike, thrush”), from the same root as shriek and screech, named after the bird's cry. Compare Icelandic skríkja (“shrieker, shrike”), Swedish skrika (“jay”).
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Basque antzandobi
- antzandobiAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Bulgarian сврака
- сврака (svraka)Any of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Catalan capsigrany, capsot
- capsigranyAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
- capsotAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
- botxíAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
- escorxadorAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
- trencaAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Chinese Mandarin 伯劳
- 伯劳 (bóláo)Any of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Czech ťuhýk
- ťuhýkAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Danish tornskade
- tornskadeAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Dutch klauwier, klapekster
- klauwierAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
- klapeksterAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Esperanto lanio
- lanioAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Estonian õgija
- õgijaAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Finnish lepinkäinen
- lepinkäinenAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
French pie-grièche
- pie-griècheAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
German Würger
- WürgerAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Hungarian gébics, gábos
- gébicsAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
- gábosAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Irish sríoc, scréachán
- sríocAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
- scréachánAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Italian averla
- averlaAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Japanese モズ
- モズ (mozu)Any of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Korean 때까치
- 때까치 (ttaekkachi)Any of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Latvian čakste
- čaksteAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Lithuanian medšarkė
- medšarkėAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Malay tirjup
- tirjupAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Norwegian varsler
- varslerAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Persian ورکاک, ستوجه
- ورکاک (varkâk)Any of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
- ستوجه (setuje)Any of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Polish dzierzba, srokosz
- dzierzbaAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
- srokoszAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Portuguese picanço
- picançoAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Punjabi ਲਟੋਰਾ
- ਲਟੋਰਾ (laṭorā)Any of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Romanian sfrâncioc
- sfrânciocAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Russian сорокопу́т
- сорокопу́т (sorokopút)Any of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Spanish alcaudón, verdugo
- alcaudónAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
- verdugoAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Swahili mbwigu
- mbwiguAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Swedish törnskata
- törnskataAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Turkish örümcek kuşu
- örümcek kuşuAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Ukrainian сорокопуд
- сорокопуд (sorokopud)Any of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Vietnamese bách thanh
- bách thanhAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Welsh cigydd
- cigyddAny of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with shrike
likemikestrikeunlikealikemicspikehikedislikeIkepsychpsychepiquediketrikevandykerestrikesliketykefikesykevikerikesike
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
shrike. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shrike
MLA
“shrike.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shrike. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shrike,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shrike.
Source: shrike on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.