sparrow
noun
spar·row
ˈsper-(ˌ)ō 
ˈspa-(ˌ)rō
1
: any of a genus (Passer of the family Passeridae) of small chiefly brownish or grayish Old World oscine songbirds that include some which have been widely introduced
especially
: house sparrow
2
: any of numerous finches (family Emberizidae) that are New World birds (such as the song sparrow or tree sparrow) resembling the Old World sparrows
Examples of sparrow in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
House sparrow House sparrows live nearly anywhere there are people.
—
Cecilia Garzella, USA TODAY, 29 Mar. 2024
Dark-eyed junco, Junco hyemalis – These New World sparrows overwinter throughout much of the U.S.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 4 Mar. 2024
Though some activities do reward special sparrows too.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024
Think the Cooper’s hawk, Townsend’s warbler and Bachman’s sparrow, for example.
—Sarah Bowman, The Indianapolis Star, 8 Jan. 2024
This is roughly the same flying speed of the great California Condor and far faster than the flying speed of a common backyard bird like a sparrow.
—Paul M. Sutter, Discover Magazine, 11 Dec. 2023
Among the likely birds in Sacramento: house finch, mourning dove, crow, cedar waxwing, scrub jay, mockingbird, sparrow, goldfinch, junco and woodpecker.
—Debbie Arrington, Sacramento Bee, 31 Jan. 2024
The ‘tech support’ scam In her home office in February last year, with a sparrow’s nest outside her window and chipmunk figurines on bookshelves behind her, Sharples sat stumped by the Spelling Bee word game on her screen.
—Michael Laris, Washington Post, 14 Dec. 2023
Mao thought sparrows were a pest, exterminated them, and caused a famine that killed millions of Chinese.
—Itxu Díaz, National Review, 31 Dec. 2023
Cecilia Garzella, USA TODAY, 29 Mar. 2024
Dark-eyed junco, Junco hyemalis – These New World sparrows overwinter throughout much of the U.S.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 4 Mar. 2024
Though some activities do reward special sparrows too.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024
Think the Cooper’s hawk, Townsend’s warbler and Bachman’s sparrow, for example.
—Sarah Bowman, The Indianapolis Star, 8 Jan. 2024
This is roughly the same flying speed of the great California Condor and far faster than the flying speed of a common backyard bird like a sparrow.
—Paul M. Sutter, Discover Magazine, 11 Dec. 2023
Among the likely birds in Sacramento: house finch, mourning dove, crow, cedar waxwing, scrub jay, mockingbird, sparrow, goldfinch, junco and woodpecker.
—Debbie Arrington, Sacramento Bee, 31 Jan. 2024
The ‘tech support’ scam In her home office in February last year, with a sparrow’s nest outside her window and chipmunk figurines on bookshelves behind her, Sharples sat stumped by the Spelling Bee word game on her screen.
—Michael Laris, Washington Post, 14 Dec. 2023
Mao thought sparrows were a pest, exterminated them, and caused a famine that killed millions of Chinese.
—Itxu Díaz, National Review, 31 Dec. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sparrow.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near sparrow
Cite this Entry
“Sparrow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sparrow. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sparrow
noun
spar·row
ˈspar-ō
1
: any of several small songbirds that have usually brownish or grayish feathers and are related to the finches
especially
: house sparrow
2
: any of numerous finches (as the song sparrow) that resemble the true sparrows
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