Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of several large web-footed birds constituting the family Diomedeidae, chiefly of the oceans of the Southern Hemisphere, and having a hooked beak and long narrow wings.
- noun A source of worry or distress.
- noun An obstacle to success. synonym: burden.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A web-footed sea-bird of the petrel family, Procellariidæ, and subfamily Diomedeinæ.
- noun A thin untwilled woolen material used for women's dresses.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) A web-footed bird, of the genus Diomedea, of which there are several species. They are the largest of sea birds, capable of long-continued flight, and are often seen at great distances from the land. They are found chiefly in the southern hemisphere.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Any of various large
seabirds of the familyDiomedeidae ranging widely in theSouthern Ocean and theNorth Pacific and having a hooked beak and long narrow wings. - noun golf A
double eagle , or three underpar on any one hole. - noun idiomatic A long-term
impediment ,burden , orcurse .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun large web-footed birds of the southern hemisphere having long narrow wings; noted for powerful gliding flight
- noun (figurative) something that hinders or handicaps
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word albatross.
Examples
-
Mason says, if elected, he would do a better job in fighting corruption, which he describes as the albatross that has been hanging around the neck of Liberia.
-
BASH (voice-over): Those prejudices led to what he calls his albatross, briefly joining the Ku Klux Klan.
-
BASH (voice-over): Those prejudices led to what he calls his albatross, briefly joining the Ku Klux Klan.
-
Together we will forever destroy America and this Healthcare albatross is just the start.
Think Progress » Tea Party sign threatens gun violence if health care passes. 2010
-
Whether this trope works organically to advance the plot or becomes an authorial albatross is beside the point; as in Kafka, whose sentences Krauss's bear an intentional stylistic resemblance to, or such neo-realistic films as Fellini's Nights of Cabiria, "Great House" builds more toward developing a theme than a plot.
Janet Byrne: Nicole Krauss's 'Great House' Reviewed Janet Byrne 2010
-
Whether this trope works organically to advance the plot or becomes an authorial albatross is beside the point; as in Kafka, whose sentences Krauss's bear an intentional stylistic resemblance to, or such neo-realistic films as Fellini's Nights of Cabiria, "Great House" builds more toward developing a theme than a plot.
Janet Byrne: Nicole Krauss's 'Great House' Reviewed Janet Byrne 2010
-
Right now we are waiting to find out what our little albatross is going to cost us ....
-
Right now we are waiting to find out what our little albatross is going to cost us ....
-
Right now we are waiting to find out what our little albatross is going to cost us ....
-
Right now we are waiting to find out what our little albatross is going to cost us ....
sonofgroucho commented on the word albatross
Fot the uninitiated, here's the Monty Python connection.
November 9, 2007
reesetee commented on the word albatross
So I'm minding my own business, catching up on news, and here's what I find:
"Wandering albatrosses fly for thousands of miles across the ocean, usually gliding a few feet above sea level. Floating carrion, especially squid, make up a large part of their diet." Wandering Albatrosses Follow Their Nose, ENN 3/11/08
SQUID!
March 13, 2008
mollusque commented on the word albatross
Reesetee, I'm shocked that you hadn't listed albatross until now. At least you had gooney bird. :-)
June 25, 2008
reesetee commented on the word albatross
Don't be shocked. For some reason, I had it twice on one list (which shouldn't happen but does), and when I deleted one instance, it disappeared entirely. So I had to re-add and now it looks like I'd forgotten it until now.
No, really. (Actually, that seems to happen a lot w/ the longer lists.)
June 25, 2008
mollusque commented on the word albatross
I've had that happen too. I think I even reported it to John as a bug once.
June 25, 2008
onomatopoeiaist commented on the word albatross
Ah! Well a-day! What evil looks
Had I from old and young!
Instead of the cross, the albatross
About my neck was hung.
- The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
July 10, 2008
reesetee commented on the word albatross
O, I think you may have forgotten to close your "emphasis" and now we've gone all italic on you. :-)
July 10, 2008
plethora commented on the word albatross
Whoa, trippy.
July 10, 2008
bilby commented on the word albatross
I don't mind it. We could do it as an April Fool prank on John next year. Imagine everyone entering comments in italics for a day.
July 11, 2008
Prolagus commented on the word albatross
Can I be mean for an hour?
July 11, 2008
Prolagus commented on the word albatross
Oh, it didn't work. John is a slack bastard.
July 11, 2008
Prolagus commented on the word albatross
How many of you use firefox?
July 11, 2008
mollusque commented on the word albatross
I do.
July 11, 2008
bilby commented on the word albatross
Always. Any excuse to send sionnach up in smoke and I'm in. Whahahahaha!
July 11, 2008
sionnach commented on the word albatross
points ears. What's that burning smell?
Oh, silly me. I'm using firefox myself here.
July 11, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word albatross
I do, Pro.
July 11, 2008
dontcry commented on the word albatross
*cracking up*
July 11, 2008
Prolagus commented on the word albatross
Crap! The "blink" tag doesn't work. John is a...
July 11, 2008
plethora commented on the word albatross
I'm a firefox devotee.
July 11, 2008
reesetee commented on the word albatross
Same here. And remember: We owe John an April Fool's joke. Mwaah-ha-ha-ha!
July 11, 2008
bilby commented on the word albatross
Stomach contents.
:-(((((
October 25, 2009
PossibleUnderscore commented on the word albatross
That's atrocious. The poor birds!
October 26, 2009
reesetee commented on the word albatross
I know--it's absolutely outrageous. They don't have enough trouble with longlining?
*sigh*
October 28, 2009