What does poultry mean?
Poultry is a collective term for domesticated birds chiefly kept for their eggs or their meat. Common examples include chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese, and the word can also denote the flesh of these birds when it appears as “poultry” on a menu or in a shopping context. It is usually treated as a mass or collective noun, so it takes a singular verb and does not have a distinct plural form. The term is especially common in agriculture, food production, food safety, and commerce, as in “poultry farm” and “poultry industry.” Although “fowl” can be used in a similar way, poultry is more specifically associated with domesticated birds and the commercial production of eggs and meat. In everyday speech, “chicken” may sometimes stand in for the broader category, but “poultry” avoids implying that the food comes from chickens alone.
Domesticated birds, especially chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese, kept for their eggs or meat.
"Strict biosecurity helps prevent disease from spreading among poultry."
Commonly used as a mass or collective noun with a singular verb.
The flesh of birds such as chicken, turkey, duck, or goose when used as food.
"She added roasted poultry and vegetables to the serving plates."
This culinary sense often appears on menus and in food labels.
Poultry is normally a mass or collective noun and takes a singular verb; there is no distinct plural form in standard use.
"The poultry was moved to a secure enclosure when the storm approached."
From chickens and turkeys to ducks and geese, poultry is the collective name for some of humanity’s most useful domesticated birds.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of poultry
Poultry comes through Old French pouleterie, a collective term derived from poulet, meaning a fowl or chicken. The Old French word ultimately traces to Latin pulla, meaning a young hen or immature fowl, and related forms such as pullet developed from the same broad Latin family. The modern English word originally referred to domestic fowl and was later extended to include other domesticated birds raised for food or eggs.
How poultry is actually used
The word is normally used as a mass or collective noun: it generally takes a singular verb, as in “the poultry industry grows,” and is not normally used with an article in the counting sense. In culinary contexts, “poultry” can refer to the meat of birds such as chicken, turkey, duck, and goose.
Easily confused with poultry
Fowl can refer to birds generally, including wild birds, whereas poultry specifically refers to domesticated birds kept for eggs or meat.