turkey

UK: 'turkey', 'Turkey': /ˈtɜːki/

US: /ˈtɝki/

US: 'turkey', 'Turkey': (tûr′kē)

Inflections of 'turkey' (n):

turkeys

npl

turkey

npl (Can be used as a collective plural)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

tur•key /ˈtɜrki/   n., pl. -keys, (esp. when thought of as a group) -key. 

1. Birds [countable] a large North American bird of the pheasant family.
2. the flesh of this bird, used as food:
   [uncountable] a dinner of turkey on Thanksgiving Day.
3. Slang Terms [countable]
   • a person or thing of little appeal or value:
     This car is a turkey; it's constantly breaking down.
   • a naive, stupid, or inept person:
     You went out with that turkey?!
   • Show Business a poor or unsuccessful play or movie;
     a flop.

Idioms

4. Idioms talk turkey, [Informal.] to talk frankly and directly:
   began to talk turkey about important issues.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

tur•key  (tûr′kē), n., pl. -keys, (esp. collectively) -key. 

1. Birds a large, gallinaceous bird of the family Meleagrididae, esp. Meleagris gallopavo, of America, that typically has green, reddish-brown, and yellowish-brown plumage of a metallic luster and that is domesticated in most parts of the world. See illus. in next column.
2. the flesh of this bird, used as food.
3. Birds See ocellated turkey. 
4. Slang Terms
   • a person or thing of little appeal;
     dud;
     loser.
   • a naive, stupid, or inept person.
   • a poor and unsuccessful theatrical production;
     flop.
5. Sport [Bowling.] three strikes in succession.
6. talk turkey, [Informal.] to talk frankly;
   mean business.

• short for Turkey cock and Turkey hen cock and hen of Turkey, first applied to guinea fowl, later confused with the American bird 1545–55

Tur•key  (tûr′kē), n. 

1. Place Names a republic in W Asia and SE Europe. 63,528,225;
   296,184 sq. mi. (767,120 sq. km). (286,928 sq. mi. (743,145 sq. km) in Asia;
   9257 sq. mi. (23,975 sq. km) in Europe). Cap.: Ankara. Cf. Ottoman Empire. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

turkey / ˈtɜːkɪ/ noun ( -keys, -key)

1. a large gallinaceous bird, Meleagris gallopavo, of North America, having a bare wattled head and neck and a brownish iridescent plumage. The male is brighter and has a fan-shaped tail. A domestic variety is widely bred for its flesh
2. a dramatic production that fails; flop
3. See cold turkey
4. talk turkey ⇒ to discuss frankly and practically

Etymology: 16th Century: shortened from Turkey cock (hen), used at first to designate the African guinea fowl (apparently because the bird was brought through Turkish territory), later applied by mistake to the American bird

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Turkey / ˈtɜːkɪ/ noun

1. a republic in W Asia and SE Europe, between the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Aegean: the centre of the Ottoman Empire; became a republic in 1923. The major Asian part, consisting mainly of an arid plateau, is separated from European Turkey by the Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, and Dardanelles. Languages: Turkish (official), Kurdish, and Arabic minority languages. Religion: Muslim majority. Currency: lira. Capital: Ankara. Pop: 80 745 020 (2017 est). Area: 780 576 sq km (301 380 sq miles)
   Official name: Republic of Türkiye