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 a dramatic production that fails; flop - See cold turkey
- talk turkey ⇒
to discuss frankly and practically
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
tur•key /ˈtɜrki/USA pronunciation
n., pl. -keys, (esp. when thought of as a group) -key.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Birds[countable] a large North American bird of the pheasant family.
- the flesh of this bird, used as food:[uncountable]a dinner of turkey on Thanksgiving Day.
- 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 Businessa poor or unsuccessful play or movie;
a flop.
- Idioms talk turkey, [Informal.]to talk frankly and directly:began to talk turkey about important issues.
tur•key
(tûr′kē),USA pronunciation n., pl. -keys, (esp. collectively) -key.
Tur•key (tûr′kē),USA pronunciation n.
- Birdsa 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.
- the flesh of this bird, used as food.
- BirdsSee ocellated turkey.
- Slang Terms
- a person or thing of little appeal;
dud;
loser. - a naive, stupid, or inept person.
- a poor and unsuccessful theatrical production;
flop.
- a person or thing of little appeal;
- Sport[Bowling.]three strikes in succession.
- 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),USA pronunciation n.
- Place Namesa 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::
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
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
'turkey hen' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):