tern

/tərn/

/tən/

Other forms: terns

A tern is a small seabird with a long tail. Most terns are white or light gray, and they're found on every single continent.

Many terns are migratory, flying thousands of miles every year—in fact, Arctic terns may fly as many as 43,000 miles during their annual migration. Terns are a type of gull, with a small, slender body, forked tail, and narrow wings. The Old English word for this type of bird was stearn, and the roots of tern can be traced back to a Scandinavian source.

Definitions of tern

1. noun

   small slender gull having narrow wings and a forked tail
   types:

   Sterna hirundo, sea swallow

   common tern of Eurasia and America having white black and grey plumage

   type of:

   larid

   long-winged web-footed aquatic bird of the gull family