any of several large, web-footed sea birds of the family Diomedeidae that have the ability to remain aloft for long periods.Compare wandering albatross.
a seemingly inescapable moral or emotional burden, as of guilt or responsibility.
something burdensome that impedes action or progress.
Textiles.
a lightweight worsted fabric with a crepe or pebble finish.
a plain-weave cotton fabric with a soft nap surface.
Origin of albatross
1675–85; variant of algatross frigate bird <Portuguese alcatraz pelican, probably <Arabic al-ghaṭṭāṣ a kind of sea eagle, literally, the diver; -b- for -g- perhaps by association with Latin albus white (the bird's color)
After all, these frequent discounts have proved an albatross for old school retailers like Bed Bath & Beyond and Gap, training people to wait for a deal.
DTC brands are rethinking their ‘never-go-on-sale’ rule|Anna Hensel|September 11, 2020|Digiday
The study also criticized certain analytical techniques and claimed that albatrosses don’t do Lévy walks after all, and that it was unclear whether many species did.
Random Search Wired Into Animals May Help Them Hunt|Liam Drew|June 11, 2020|Quanta Magazine
When the opportunity arose to analyze flight data from albatrosses — birds that fly freely over the open ocean in search of food — he gratefully took it.
Random Search Wired Into Animals May Help Them Hunt|Liam Drew|June 11, 2020|Quanta Magazine
Note to Sting: An “albatross” in this context is more like “tens of thousands of dollars of student loan debt.”
Sting and Hillary Are Just Like You: How the Very Rich Play at Being Very Ordinary|Tim Teeman|June 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The deal reached to end the shutdown did nothing to address the albatross of unpredictability.
The GOP’s Uncertainty Strategy Is Killing the Recovery|Kirsten Powers|October 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It was tough when I was younger; it was like an albatross on my back but I just found a way to navigate it.
Helen Mirren On ‘Hitchcock,’ Sexism, Queen Elizabeth II & More|Marlow Stern|November 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST
But the Ryan budget could become an albatross in the negotiations over the fiscal cliff.
Back in Congress, What Will Paul Ryan Do Next?|Eleanor Clift|November 16, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Age has become the albatross hanging on the neck of a generation of would-be mothers.
The Girls’ Guide to Getting Pregnant—Type-A Style|Melissa Lafsky|April 17, 2012|DAILY BEAST
“No, they are not,” said Jack; and he took them out of his pockets, and laid them down in a row before the albatross.
Mopsa the Fairy|Jean Ingelow
The Albatross is peculiar to the south as the gull to the north.
Overland through Asia; Pictures of Siberian, Chinese, and Tartar Life|Thomas Wallace Knox
Knowing that the Albatross would beat her to Sydney, the captain of the Albatross had undertaken to look up the dog.
Michael, Brother of Jerry|Jack London
The crew of the Albatross performed all these different acts of duty with silence and alacrity.
An Old Sailor's Yarns|Nathaniel Ames
I dreamed all that night of the man "that shot the albatross."
Pencillings by the Way|N. Parker Willis
British Dictionary definitions for albatross
albatross
/ (ˈælbəˌtrɒs) /
noun
any large oceanic bird of the genera Diomedea and Phoebetria, family Diomedeidae, of cool southern oceans: order Procellariiformes (petrels). They have long narrow wings and are noted for a powerful gliding flightSee also wandering albatross
a constant and inescapable burden or handicapan albatross of debt
golfa score of three strokes under par for a hole
Word Origin for albatross
C17: from Portuguese alcatraz pelican, from Arabic al-ghattās, from al the + ghattās white-tailed sea eagle; influenced by Latin albus white: C20 in sense 2, from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798) by Samuel Taylor Coleridge