Definition of "goshawk" [gos•hawk]

• A large powerful hawk (Accipiter gentilis) having broad rounded wings, a long tail, and gray or brownish plumage. (noun)
• Any of several similar or related hawks. (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.

• "I've heard falconers say that a goshawk is like a loaded gun: you know it will go off but you don't know when."
• "Well back from today's walk and no goshawk, which is good."
• "And a goshawk is the fiercest of all the hawks there are."