macaw

UK/məˈkɔː/US/məˈkɑ/

nounB2+Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #12,496 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: macaws

A macaw is a huge brilliantly coloured tropical parrot. A scarlet macaw, a pair of macaws, the macaw screeched.

They pair for life and can live sixty years or more, which is why keeping one is a commitment that outlasts many owners. Several species are endangered, mostly through the pet trade and the loss of the old hollow trees they nest in.

Definitions of macaw

1nounmacawA huge brilliantly coloured tropical parrot.B2+
“A bright red and blue macaw screeched from the top of the rainforest tree.”

macaw is a bird.

Where it comes from

Portuguese macau, of uncertain origin, probably from a language of the Brazilian coast.

Portuguese
macau
English, today
macaw

From Portuguese macau, of unknown origin. English sources point to Nheengatu makawana, which is only attested from the 20th century onwards.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Birds

Practise this word

macaw in the wild

Spix's macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii), also known as the little blue macaw, or simply blue macaw, is a macaw species that was endemic to Brazil.
Spix's macaw
The bird is a medium-size parrot weighing about 300 grams, smaller than most of the large macaws.
Spix's macaw
In recent years it has become much rarer in captivity and much more expensive due to stricter laws, its price being higher than even red-and-green macaws.
Scarlet macaw
Although there are records of the macaw from Britain from the early 1830s, this bird was only generally recognised as an independent species in the late 1970s.
Lear's macaw
As of 2025, there are 1 million blue and gold macaws living in captivity worldwide, one of the highest populations of any large parrot in captivity.
Blue-and-yellow macaw

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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