cuckoo

Meanings

1. 1nouncountablebiology

   A migratory bird with a two-note call that often lays its eggs in other birds' nests, leaving them to raise its chicks.

   Grammar: Counted like other birds: a cuckoo, several cuckoos.

   Patterns

   • a cuckoo in the nest

   A cuckoo laid its egg in the reed warbler's nest.

   The first cuckoo of spring is welcomed in many villages.

   Young cuckoos are often much larger than the foster parents feeding them.

2. 2adjectiveafter a verbinformalhumorous

   Crazy or foolish.

   Grammar: Informal and usually follows a verb like be or go: you must be cuckoo.

   Patterns

   • go cuckoo
   • be cuckoo

   You must be cuckoo if you think I'll swim in that cold lake.

   After three days stuck indoors, the kids went cuckoo.

   He's a bit cuckoo, but everybody likes him.

3. 3nouncountable

   The repeated two-note call of the bird, or the sound imitated by a clock.

   Grammar: Often used in the compound cuckoo clock, or on its own for the sound.

   Patterns

   • the cuckoo of something

   We woke to the cuckoo of the wall clock at seven.

   The distant cuckoo came from the woods behind the farm.

   Every hour, the cuckoo popped out and called the time.

Word forms

Common combinations

cuckoo clock

The cuckoo clock in the hall chimed at noon.

cuckoo in the nest

The newcomer felt like a cuckoo in the nest.

go cuckoo

The fans went cuckoo when the band appeared.

cuckoo call

The cuckoo call is a sure sign of spring.

cuckoo bird

The cuckoo bird does not build its own nest.

Synonyms and how they differ

crazy

Crazy is the general informal word and may sound stronger, while cuckoo is lighter and often playful.

bonkers

Bonkers is a British informal word for wildly silly or mad, a close match to the adjective sense of cuckoo.

nuts

Nuts is a blunt informal word and can be used for strong feelings, while cuckoo sounds more cartoonish.

loopy

Loopy suggests slightly confused or eccentric, a little gentler than cuckoo.

Opposites

Word family

cuckoo-pint noun

a woodland plant, also called lords-and-ladies

cuckoo clock noun

a wall clock with a wooden bird that pops out on the hour

cuckoo spit noun

the frothy foam on plants made by young insects

cuckoo-land noun

an imaginary place of foolish ideas

Commonly confused: cuckoo or coo?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “cuckoo”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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