penguin

noun

pen·​guin ˈpen-gwən 

ˈpeŋ-

: any of various erect short-legged flightless aquatic birds (family Spheniscidae) of the southern hemisphere

Examples of penguin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

More than half a million have been lost since 2011, representing a quarter of the island’s penguins, according to the the findings published Wednesday in the journal Current Biology. — Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2026

Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images The researchers said the Adelie penguins of Cape Adare, on the other side of Antarctica, are now the world's largest penguin colony, numbering more than one million as of 2018. — CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026

From an aerial photograph of Adélie penguins taken by Thomas Sayre-McCord during a research expedition to the Danger Islands in Antarctica and published by the NASA Earth Observatory in July. — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026

One day, there was menacing rhetoric on Truth Social; the next, memes on X of penguins. — Isaac Stanley-Becker, The Atlantic, 19 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

obsolete English penguin great auk, perhaps from Welsh pen gwyn white head (applied to the bird in winter plumage)

First Known Use

1577, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing penguin

• Adélie penguin
• chinstrap penguin
• emperor penguin
• gentoo penguin
• king penguin
• macaroni penguin
• Magellanic penguin

Kids Definition

penguin

noun

pen·​guin ˈpen-gwən 

ˈpeŋ-

: any of various short-legged seabirds of the southern hemisphere that cannot fly and have wings functioning as flippers and used in swimming