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pigeon

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pigeon¹

  • /ˈpɪ.dʒɪn/ UK, US
  • /ˈpɪ.dʒən/ UK, US
  • /ˈpə.dʒən/ New Zealand

Sounds like pidgin · Rhymes with -ɪdʒən, -ɪdʒɪn

Where it comes from

Inherited from Middle English pygeoun, borrowed from Old French pyjon, inherited from Late Latin pīpiōnem (“chirping bird”), derived from Latin pīpiāre (“to chirp”), of imitative origin. Partly displaced native English dove.

noun pigeons · pidgeon

  1. countable One of several birds of the family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes.

    Similar: culver, dove

  2. uncountable The meat from this bird.
  3. Canada, US, countable, informal A person who is a target or victim of a confidence game.

    Similar: dupe, fish, sucker, chump, chumpion, cousin, cull, cully, dotterel, easy mark, fall guy, gudgeon

  4. countable A pacifist, appeaser, an isolationist, a dove.
  5. countable A person hired to transport film footage out of a region where transport options are limited. Kalb rushed to the airport and found a "pigeon" to take out the film: an American woman headed for London.
  6. Australia, countable, slang A weak or useless person.

verb pigeons · pigeoning · pigeoned · pidgeon

  1. transitive To deceive with a confidence game.

pigeon²

  • /ˈpɪ.dʒɪn/ UK, US
  • /ˈpɪ.dʒən/ UK, US
  • /ˈpə.dʒən/ New Zealand

Sounds like pidgin · Rhymes with -ɪdʒən, -ɪdʒɪn

Where it comes from

From pidgin English, from a Chinese Pidgin English pronunciation of English business during trade in the Far East. See pidgin.

noun pigeons

  1. UK, archaic, countable, idiomatic, informal, uncountable Concern or responsibility. It's their pigeon.

Pigeon³

proper noun Pigeons

  1. countable, uncountable A surname.
  2. countable, uncountable An unincorporated community in Jackson Township, Spencer County, Indiana.
  3. countable, uncountable Two townships in Indiana, in Vanderburgh County and Warrick County.
  4. countable, uncountable A village in Winsor Township, Huron County, Michigan.
  5. countable, uncountable An unincorporated community in Roane County, West Virginia, named after Pigeon Run.
  6. countable, uncountable A town in Trempealeau County, Wisconsin.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: dove, bird, bug, bunny, arm, sucker, mule, squealer, holing, pouter, touch, target, fool, mark, gotcha, snitch

Translations

Every language

noun bird of the dove and pigeon family Columbidae — see also dove

Españolpaloma, palomo, urpila, urpilla, cuculí, torcacita
한국어비둘기 bidulgi, 구구 gugu
日本語鳩 hato
中文鴿子 /鸽子 gēzi
हिन्दीकबूतर kabūtar, कपोत kapot, परेवा parevā
Kiswahilihua, njiwa
Portuguêspombo, pomba
Françaispigeon
DeutschTaube, Tauber, Täuber, Tauberich, Täuberich, Täubin
Italianopiccione, picciona, colombo, colomba
Ελληνικάπεριστέρι peristéri
Românăporumbel, porumbă
Русскийго́лубь gólubʹ, голу́бка golúbka
Tiếng Việtbồ câu
العربيةحَمَامَة ḥamāma
עבריתיוֹנָה yoná

noun victim of a confidence game

Françaispigeon
Ελληνικάθύμα thýma, κορόιδο koróido
Русскийлох lox

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Cite this
MLA

"pigeon." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/pigeon. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

pigeon. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/pigeon

Chicago

"pigeon." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/pigeon.

BibTeX
@misc{pigeon_2026,
  title = {pigeon},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/pigeon},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}