Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A group of birds, especially quail.
- noun A group or assemblage.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A flock of birds, especially of larks or quails.
- noun A small company or troop, as of roebucks, heifers, etc.
- noun A group or small company of persons, especially of girls or women, but also used of the male sex: as, “a bevy of powdered coxcombs,” Goldsmith; “a bevy of renegades,” Macaulay, Hist. Eng.
- noun A small collection of objects; an assemblage of things.
- noun Synonyms Covey, etc. See
flock .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A company; an assembly or collection of persons, especially of ladies.
- noun A flock of birds, especially quails or larks; also, a herd of roes.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A group of
animals , in particularquail . - noun A large group or
collection .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a flock of birds (especially when gathered close together on the ground)
- noun a large gathering of people of a particular type
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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In one room sat the computers -- that is, a bevy of mathematically gifted women toiling away on regression analysis with sharp pencils.
Michael Byers's ÂPercival's Planet, reviewed by Ron Charles 2010
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Instead I tried to occupy my mind with recollections of my earthly friends; I visualized my childhood days in India as I studied under old Chand Kabi, I thought of dear old Jimmy Welsh, and I recalled a bevy of girls I had liked and with some of whom I had almost been serious.
Pirates of Venus Burroughs, Edgar Rice, 1875-1950 1962
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Science historian Howard Markel discusses how the term later came to refer to a bevy of genetic manipulations.
NPR Topics: News 2011
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WASHINGTON - Barack Obama moved emphatically Wednesday to erase the legacy of the past eight years by calling a bevy of Mideast leaders, circulating a not-yet-released executive order to close the Guantanamo prison and deliberately diminishing the powers of his own presidency.
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He then goes on to detail the "bevy" of bills that environmental leaders are fighting this session-and where Montana Dems have stood on them.
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Soviet Assault expansion pack is now available for World in Conflict, featuring 6 new single missions, a "bevy" of new weapons and more.
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It did not appear that Sharon Brown had such a "bevy" as the moneyed Osteen's could afford.
Pulpit Pimps 2008
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He also kept a bevy of alphabetized 78-rpm records, none of which were released post-1930.
The Perfect Home for Old 78s Maya Pope-Chappell 2011
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Mimi Ritzen Crawford for The Wall Street Journal Mr. Landroth kept a bevy of alphabetized 78-rpm records, none of which was released post-1930.
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Why, she had a bevy of suitors, but she knew about them too, ya know?
Darkness Becomes Her Kelly Keaton 2011
sonofgroucho commented on the word bevy
The collective noun for beauties.
August 5, 2007
yarb commented on the word bevy
To the right was a bevy of noble ladies, alighting from their carriages to take possession of their private boxes; to the left a tribe of female traders in lubricity, who came to sell their wares in the lobby.
- Lesage, The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane, tr. Smollett, bk 10 ch. 5
October 9, 2008
sionnach commented on the word bevy
almost an amber word, but foiled by yarb's example!
July 19, 2009
vendingmachine commented on the word bevy
See bevies. Ghastly!
December 10, 2016