Meaning & use
heron
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Meaning
nouncountable
A tall wading bird with long legs, a long neck, and a pointed bill, which catches fish and frogs in shallow water.
Grammar: Plural herons: a pair of herons.
Patterns
- a heron on something
A heron stood motionless at the edge of the pond.
The heron lifted off with slow, heavy wingbeats.
We saw a great blue heron fishing in the marsh.
Word forms
| plural | herons |
|---|
Common combinations
- great blue heron
- A great blue heron stood in the shallows.
- grey heron
- The grey heron is common on British rivers.
- heron colony
- A heron colony nests in the tall trees.
- heron's nest
- The heron's nest was high in a pine.
- wading heron
- A wading heron waited for a fish.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- heronry noun
- a place where herons nest in numbers
- herons noun
- plural form
- heronries noun
- plural of heronry
Commonly confused: heron or crane? heron or hero?
heron vs crane
Cranes fly with their necks stretched out, while herons fly with their necks folded back. Cranes are also heavier birds.
heron vs hero
Hero is a brave person and has no link to the bird, though the spelling is close.
Practice
A heron typically hunts by ____.
Choose one answer.
Herons stand motionless in shallow water and strike at fish. They do not dive from great heights like gannets or swim underwater.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “heron”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.