/ ˈtɜːki; NAmE ˈtɜːrki/ noun ( pl. -eys )
1.
[ C ] a large bird that is often kept for its meat, eaten especially at Christmas in Britain and at Thanksgiving in the US
2.
[ U ] meat from a turkey :
roast turkey
3.
[ C ] ( NAmE , informal ) a failure :
His latest movie is a real turkey.
4.
[ C ] ( NAmE , informal ) a stupid or useless person
—see also cold turkey
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IDIOMS
see talk verb
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 16th cent.: short for turkeycock or turkeyhen , originally applied to the guineafowl (which was imported through Turkey), and then mistakenly to the American bird.