Illustration of nightingale
nightingale
noun
night·in·gale
ˈnī-tᵊn-ˌgāl 
-tiŋ-
plural nightingales
: an Old World flycatcher (Luscinia megarhynchos synonym Erithacus megarhynchos) that has a brown back, a reddish tail, and cream or white underparts and that is noted for the sweet usually nocturnal song of the male
The nightingale has twenty-four basic songs, but gains wild variety by varying the internal arrangement of phrases and the length of pauses.—
Lewis Thomas
Lewis Thomas
also
: any of various other birds noted for their sweet song or for singing at night
—often used with a qualifier indicating location
… the beautiful silver purity of the white-throated sparrow—the nightingale of the North … —Stewart Edward White
Stewart Edward White … the "lonesome" whippoorwill, the American nightingale … —Phil Patton
Phil Patton Mockingbirds sing a medley copied from more than 40 other birds, singing each birdcall two or three times before changing to a new tune. … Because of the mockingbird's beautiful voice, it is sometimes called the American nightingale. —Lee Belanger
Lee Belanger
Examples of nightingale in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The stamped edges include a similar nightingale motif on a baby blue and yellow backdrop.
—Ingrid Vasquez, People.com, 2 Oct. 2024
The worry is that our remembrance will whittle down Jones’s vast career—spanning sixty years and encompassing more than two hundred turns in the theatre, on film, and on television—to, as with Plutarch’s nightingale picked clean, vox et praeterea nihil: a voice and nothing more.
—Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2024
At Little Massingham, though, there is birdsong in the air, including the clear, high notes of the nightingale; setting ponies, goats, and Tamworth pigs to cultivate old farmland has had remarkable results, with insects quadrupling in number.
—Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Sep. 2024
Other newspapers’ nicknames for her — the California nightingale, the California skylark — were not just about her immense vocal range, but about the wonder and novelty that California, of all places, could claim such a woman.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2024
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Ingrid Vasquez, People.com, 2 Oct. 2024
The worry is that our remembrance will whittle down Jones’s vast career—spanning sixty years and encompassing more than two hundred turns in the theatre, on film, and on television—to, as with Plutarch’s nightingale picked clean, vox et praeterea nihil: a voice and nothing more.
—Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2024
At Little Massingham, though, there is birdsong in the air, including the clear, high notes of the nightingale; setting ponies, goats, and Tamworth pigs to cultivate old farmland has had remarkable results, with insects quadrupling in number.
—Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Sep. 2024
Other newspapers’ nicknames for her — the California nightingale, the California skylark — were not just about her immense vocal range, but about the wonder and novelty that California, of all places, could claim such a woman.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for nightingale
Dictionary Entries Near nightingale
Cite this Entry
“Nightingale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nightingale. Accessed 11 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
nightingale
noun
night·in·gale
ˈnīt-ᵊn-ˌgāl
1
: an Old World thrush noted for the sweet song of the male
2
: any of several other birds noted for their sweet song or for singing at night
Biographical Definition
Nightingale
biographical name
Night·in·gale
ˈnī-tᵊn-ˌgāl
-tiŋ-
Florence 1820–1910 English nurse and philanthropist
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