: any of a family (Troglodytidae) of small typically brownish oscine singing birds
especially: a very small widely distributed bird (Troglodytes troglodytes) that has a short erect tail and is noted for its song
2
: any of various small singing birds resembling the true wrens in size and habits
Illustration of wren
wren 1
Examples of wren in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebWren nesting update As predicted, our house wren eggs began to hatch on May 4.—Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 May 2024 In An Elemental Thing, wrens are everywhere, as are tigers; sounds, too.—Wyatt Mason, Harper's Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024 This allows wrens entry, but keeps larger, predator birds from getting inside.—Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Mar. 2024 But the sample was heavily populated by songbirds like wrens and warblers.—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 14 Sep. 2023 Almost as soon as it’s built, a stone wall is inhabited by insects—a key indicator of biodiversity—and small animals such as voles, chipmunks, and wrens.—Hannah Kirshner, The Atlantic, 6 Dec. 2023 In past years the male house wren jumped into action as soon as eggs hatched, bringing in food to help feed the hungry youngsters.—Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Aug. 2023 Frequently, males are killed defending the nest, leaving the daunting task of feeding four hungry chicks all to Mama wren.—Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Aug. 2023 This could mean the male wren was killed while defending the nest from another male attempting to claim the nest box as his own.—Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 July 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wren.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English wrenne, from Old English wrenna; akin to Old High German rentilo wren
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of wren was
before the 12th century
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