Definition of "pelican" [pel•i•can]

• Any of various large, web-footed birds of the genus Pelecanus of tropical and warm regions, having a long straight bill from which hangs a distensible pouch of skin for catching and holding fish. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The pelican is a bit strange, but obviously it likes it there in Montana."
• "This is one of the reasons the pelican is the state bird the selfless nature to give herself for her children."
• "Turns out the white bird that looks like a pelican is a pelican."