English Reference
noun

poultry

n.
US /ˈpoʊɫtɹi/ UK /pˈəʊltɹi/ poul·try UK spelling poultries

  1. 01 B1 Intermediate

    birds such as chickens, ducks, and geese that people keep on farms.

    domesticated birds kept for agricultural production, typically for their meat or eggs.

    Simple

    The farmer keeps various types of poultry, including thirty chickens and ten ducks.

    In context

    The outbreak of avian flu forced local authorities to restrict the movement of poultry between commercial farms in the region.

    Usage

    Usually treated as a plural noun when referring to the birds themselves.

    fowldomestic birds
  2. 02 B1 Intermediate Cooking

    the meat from birds like chicken or turkey that you eat.

    the flesh of domesticated birds used as food.

    Simple

    I prefer eating poultry like chicken or turkey rather than red meat.

    In context

    The restaurant's menu features a wide selection of poultry, ranging from roasted duck to traditional grilled chicken breast.

    Usage

    Uncountable when referring to the meat as a food category.

    bird meatwhite meat

From Middle English pultrie, from Old French pouleterie, from poulet, diminutive of poule (“hen”), from Latin pullus (“chick”). For the development of Middle English /u/ to modern /oʊ/, /əʊ/ before /lt/, /ld/, /ln/, compare boult, boulder, colter/coulter, poultice, shoulder, won't.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Latin pullus
Level B1 · Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated