Illustration of partridge
- partridge 1
partridge
noun
par·tridge ˈpär-trij 
dialectal ˈpa-trij
plural partridge or partridges
1
: any of various typically medium-sized stout-bodied Old World gallinaceous birds (Perdix, Alectoris, and related genera) with variegated plumage that are often hunted as game
2
: any of various related birds (such as the American ruffed grouse or bobwhite) resembling the Old World partridges in size, habits, or value as game
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Grouse and red deer, in season, comes from Balmoral, along with pheasant and partridge from Sandringham, and more pheasant from Windsor, too. 
Tom Parker Bowles, Town & Country, 15 May 2022 Zebari hunted the kaw, or chukar partridge, a game bird with zebra flanks that is an unofficial national bird of Kurdistan, prized for its song and meat. New York Times, 20 Apr. 2022 Later still, fishing for Westslope cutthroat trout heats up; some visitors also hunt chukar partridge along the shore. Christopher Solomon, Travel + Leisure, 20 Mar. 2022 And it is certainly not done introducing new twists, judging by season 41's multiple prisoner's dilemmas, Do or Die, Shot in The Dark, Hourglass, and a partridge in a pear tree. Dalton Ross, EW.com, 3 Mar. 2022 While the mountain goats, sheep, moose, elk, black bear, and deer dominate the western mountains, eastern Montana offers exceptional hunting for sharptails, pheasants, Hungarian partridge, waterfowl, and whitetail deer. Chris Dorsey, Forbes, 4 Jan. 2022 But the tree and partridge arrive separately, weeks apart, and require assembly. Eli Grober, The New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2021 Just to the right of the little partridge berry patch was a small plant that didn’t match all the others in the area. Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, 17 Sep. 2021 The chefs are tasked with creating a dish featuring either quail, duck, squab, turkey, or chukar (a type of partridge). Vulture, 23 Apr. 2021 See More
Tom Parker Bowles, Town & Country, 15 May 2022 Zebari hunted the kaw, or chukar partridge, a game bird with zebra flanks that is an unofficial national bird of Kurdistan, prized for its song and meat. New York Times, 20 Apr. 2022 Later still, fishing for Westslope cutthroat trout heats up; some visitors also hunt chukar partridge along the shore. Christopher Solomon, Travel + Leisure, 20 Mar. 2022 And it is certainly not done introducing new twists, judging by season 41's multiple prisoner's dilemmas, Do or Die, Shot in The Dark, Hourglass, and a partridge in a pear tree. Dalton Ross, EW.com, 3 Mar. 2022 While the mountain goats, sheep, moose, elk, black bear, and deer dominate the western mountains, eastern Montana offers exceptional hunting for sharptails, pheasants, Hungarian partridge, waterfowl, and whitetail deer. Chris Dorsey, Forbes, 4 Jan. 2022 But the tree and partridge arrive separately, weeks apart, and require assembly. Eli Grober, The New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2021 Just to the right of the little partridge berry patch was a small plant that didn’t match all the others in the area. Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, 17 Sep. 2021 The chefs are tasked with creating a dish featuring either quail, duck, squab, turkey, or chukar (a type of partridge). Vulture, 23 Apr. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English partrich, modification of Anglo-French perdriz, alteration of Old French perdix, from Latin perdic-, perdix, from Greek perdik-, perdix
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
partridge
noun
par·tridge ˈpär-trij
plural partridge or partridges
: a plump grayish brown bird that lives mostly on the ground and is sometimes hunted for food or sport