Word.ws English Dictionary

nightjar

/ˈnaɪtd͡ʒɑː//ˈnaɪtd͡ʒɑɹ/

nightjar noun: any of various medium-sized nocturnal birds, of the family Caprimulgidae from the order Caprimulgiformes, that feed predominantly on moths and other large flying insects.

nightjar: any of various medium-sized nocturnal birds, of the family Caprimulgidae from the order...
Image: mourad-harzallah, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

nightjar (plural nightjars)

  1. Any of various medium-sized nocturnal birds, of the family Caprimulgidae from the order Caprimulgiformes, that feed predominantly on moths and other large flying insects.

nightjar meaning in Tamil, Assamese, Malay and Vietnamese

nightjar in Tamil

பக்கி

nightjar in Assamese

nocturnal bird of the family Caprimulgidae
দিনকণা dinkona

nightjar in Malay

nocturnal bird of the family Caprimulgidae
burung tukang

nightjar in Vietnamese

nocturnal bird of the family Caprimulgidae
cú muỗi

Forms of nightjar

pluralnightjars
alternative formnight-jar
alternative formnightchurr

Origin of nightjar

From night + jar (“a discordant sound”), due to the bird's harsh call.

Words formed from nightjar

Questions about nightjar

What does nightjar mean?
Nightjar means any of various medium-sized nocturnal birds, of the family Caprimulgidae from the order Caprimulgiformes, that feed predominantly on moths and other large flying insects.
What is nightjar in Tamil?
Nightjar in Tamil is பக்கி. See Nightjar meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is nightjar?
Nightjar is a noun.
How do you pronounce nightjar?
Nightjar is pronounced /ˈnaɪtd͡ʒɑː/ (UK).
What is the plural of nightjar?
The plural of nightjar is nightjars.

Words near nightjar in the dictionary

  1. nightingale-thrush
  2. nightingale-thrushes
  3. nightingale-wren
  4. nightingales
  5. nightish
  6. nightjar
  7. nightjars
  8. nightlamp
  9. nightlamps
  10. nightless
  11. nightlessness

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: nightjar (page history and authors); nightjar (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-nightjar.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-VCcortex-nightjar.wav.

Cite this entry: “nightjar.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/nightjar. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.