weathercock

[ weth-er-kok ]
See synonyms for weathercock on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a weather vane with the figure of a rooster on it.

  2. (loosely) any weather vane.

  1. a person who readily adopts the latest fads, opinions, etc.: The count is the weathercock of the jet set.

Origin of weathercock

1
First recorded in 1250–1300, weathercock is from the Middle English word wedercoc.See weather, cock1

Words Nearby weathercock

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

How to use weathercock in a sentence

  • A weathercock and two towers visible amid the trees marked the site of the town.

    Marguerite | Anatole France
  • They were, in fact, clasped around the leg of the weathercock.

    The Adventures of Harry Revel | Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
  • And just then the wind came in a sudden gust and the weathercock flew around to face it.

  • I used to be a jolly weathercock, but now, with all this water around, I feel more like a lighthouse.

  • And just then the weathercock shouted something which sounded very much like "Periscope!"

British Dictionary definitions for weathercock

weathercock

/ (ˈwɛðəˌkɒk) /


noun
  1. a weather vane in the form of a cock

  2. a person who is fickle or changeable

verb
  1. (intr) (of an aircraft) to turn or tend to turn into the wind

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