Meaning & use

cuckoo

noun·Everyday

A grayish bird known for laying its eggs in the nests of other bird species.

See it in a sentence

The distinctive call of the cuckoo echoed through the forest each spring.

Farmers traditionally associated the first cuckoo of the year with the arrival of spring.

A note on using this word

Cuckoo is also used informally as an adjective meaning crazy or slightly mad, as in 'he's gone completely cuckoo.'

Words with a similar meaning

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Another way to use it

2. adjective

Crazy, foolish, or slightly mad in behavior or thinking (informal).

Everyone thought his plan to cross the desert on foot was completely cuckoo.

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