thrush

1
[ thruhsh ]

noun
  1. any of numerous, medium-sized songbirds of the family Turdinae, usually dull brown and often speckled below, and including many outstanding singers.

  2. any of various superficially similar birds, as the water thrushes.

  1. Slang. a female professional singer, especially of popular songs.

Origin of thrush

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English thrusche, Old English thrȳsce; cognate with Old High German drōsca

Other words from thrush

  • thrushlike, adjective

Other definitions for thrush (2 of 2)

thrush2
[ thruhsh ]

noun
  1. Pathology. a disease, especially in children, characterized by whitish spots and ulcers on the membranes of the mouth, fauces, etc., caused by a parasitic fungus, Candida albicans.

  2. Veterinary Pathology. (in horses) a diseased condition of the frog of the foot.

Origin of thrush

2
First recorded in 1655–65; akin to Danish tröske, Swedish torsk

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use thrush in a sentence

  • Fieldfares and Mistletoe Thrushes usually sell at fourpence each, the rest at fourpence a couple.

  • The murmur of the nearby Swale and the notes of the English thrushes filled the air with soft melody.

  • Blackbirds and thrushes joined in the chorus, and birds of all sorts flitted around in multitudes.

    The British Expedition to the Crimea | William Howard Russell
  • The birds were about the size of the hermit thrushes, but lither and suppler.

    Birds of the Rockies | Leander Sylvester Keyser
  • So that now the thrushes have no idea of there being no Kapchack.

    Wood Magic | Richard Jefferies

British Dictionary definitions for thrush (1 of 2)

thrush1

/ (θrʌʃ) /


noun
  1. any songbird of the subfamily Turdinae, esp those having a brown plumage with a spotted breast, such as the mistle thrush and song thrush: family Muscicapidae: Compare water thrush Related adjective: turdine

Origin of thrush

1
Old English thrӯsce; related to Old High German drōsca; see throstle, throat

British Dictionary definitions for thrush (2 of 2)

thrush2

/ (θrʌʃ) /


noun
    • a fungal disease of the mouth, esp of infants, and the genitals, characterized by the formation of whitish spots and caused by infection with the fungus Candida albicans

    • another word for sprue 1

  1. a softening of the frog of a horse's hoof characterized by degeneration and a thick foul discharge

Origin of thrush

2
C17: related to Old Danish törsk, Danish troske

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for thrush

thrush

[ thrŭsh ]


  1. An infectious disease, caused by the fungus Candida albicans, characterized by small whitish eruptions on the mouth, throat, and tongue, and sometimes accompanied by fever, colic, and diarrhea. Thrush is most often seen in infants, children, and people with impaired immune systems.

  2. A degenerative condition of a horse's foot, usually caused by unhygienic management.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.