What does birdied mean?
Birdied is the past tense and past participle of the verb 'birdie', a golf term meaning to complete a hole in one stroke fewer than par. If par for a hole is four strokes and a player finishes in three, they have birdied that hole. The term derives from American golf slang of the late nineteenth century, in which 'bird' was a general expression for anything excellent; a score one under par came to be called a 'birdie', and using the noun as a verb followed naturally. Today 'birdied' appears overwhelmingly in sports journalism and broadcast commentary, typically with the hole named directly as its object, as in 'she birdied the eighteenth to seal the victory'. Because achieving a birdie signals skill under pressure, the word carries positive connotations and often marks a turning point in a round's narrative.
verb (past tense and past participle)Past tense and past participle of 'birdie': to score one stroke under par on a hole in golf.
- To score one stroke under par on a hole in golf (past tense/past participle).
"She birdied the final hole to win the tournament by a single stroke."
"He birdied four of the last five holes to force a playoff."
"The champion birdied the 17th to take a two-shot lead."
Golfers borrowed 'bird' as slang for 'excellent' in 19th-century America — so when you birdie a hole, you're literally calling your shot 'a bird'.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of birdied
Birdied traces to the golf noun 'birdie', coined in the United States in the late nineteenth century from the slang use of 'bird' to mean something excellent or first-rate. Atlantic City golfer Ab Smith is popularly credited with coining the term around 1899, though such attributions are difficult to verify precisely. The noun was soon used verbally, producing forms such as birdied and birdying. The ultimate root is Middle English 'brid' or 'bird', itself of Germanic origin.
Related word forms
How birdied is actually used
Exclusively golf jargon, common in sports reporting and commentary. Transitive usage takes the hole as object ('birdied the 10th'). Informal register.
Easily confused with birdied
'Birdie' is the standard spelling in golf; 'birdy' is a less common variant spelling of the same term.