parrot

noun

1. 1

   A kind of bird, many species of which are colorful and able to mimic human speech, of the order Psittaciformes or (narrowly) of the family Psittacidae.

   I bought a wonderful parrot at the pet store.

   Mrs. Merdle was at home, and was in her nest of crimson and gold, with the parrot on a neighbouring stem watching her with his head on one side, as if he took her for another splendid parrot of a larger species.

   This parrot is no more. It has ceased to be. It's expired and gone to see its maker. This is a late parrot. It's a stiff. Bereft of life, it rests in peace. If you hadn't nailed it to the perch it would be pushing up the daisies. It's run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. This is an ex-parrot.

2. 2

   figurativeA parroter; a person who repeats the words or ideas of others.

   What kind of a parrot are you? He just said that.

   In this distribution of functions, the scholar is the delegated intellect. In the right state, he is, Man Thinking. In the degenerate state, when the victim of society, he tends to become a mere thinker, or, still worse, the parrot of other men’s thinking.

3. 3

   archaicA puffin.

4. 4

   obsoletechannel coal.

5. 5

   slangA transponder.

verb

1. 1

   To repeat (exactly what has just been said) without necessarily showing understanding, in the manner of a parrot.

   The interviewee merely parroted the views of her tabloid.

   So when political leaders parrot the tobacco company line, say cigarettes are not necessarily addictive, and oppose our efforts to keep tobacco away from our children, they continue to cater to powerful interests, but they're not standing up for parents and children.

   While interviewing officers, some prosecutors will tell them what the law will require that he, the prosecutor, establish through his witnesses. The officer-witness will then parrot back those requirements, making his testimony fit the requirements of the law.

   But residents say steady Russian military pressure – combined now with an American president’s apparent parroting of Kremlin talking points about the war, and his push for a ceasefire that could include Ukrainian territorial losses – means Russia is also winning in a different way, by escalating Ukrainian anxiety.

Forms

plural

parrots

past tense

parroted, parrotted

past participle

parroted, parrotted

present participle

parroting

third person singular

parrots