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Added 8 October 2026

yardbird

/ˈjɑːd.bəːd/ noun

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about yardbird at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A military recruit who is assigned menial tasks.
A person serving a sentence in a jail or prison.

Origin

From yard + bird. Attested since 1956 in the sense of ‘convict,’ derived from the idea of prison yards. During World War II, it meant ‘basic trainee’ among the armed forces.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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