what does buzzard mean

“Buzzard” usually means a large bird of prey, and by extension can also mean an unpleasant or contemptible person.

Main meanings of “buzzard”

• A bird of prey with broad wings and strong beak, especially species in the genus Buteo in Europe (often just called “buzzard” in British English).

• In North America , a common use is for vulture‑like scavengers , especially the turkey vulture, a big dark bird that eats dead animals.

• Informally, it can mean a mean, greedy, or nasty person , like calling someone an “old buzzard.”

• Historically and in slang, it has also meant a blockhead/dunce , a double bogey in golf , or some military slang uses (like a fighter plane or a discharge), though these are much rarer today.

How people use it in sentences

• Literal: “A buzzard was circling over the field, looking for food.”

• North American sense: “Turkey buzzards were gliding on the warm air currents.”

• Insult/character: “That old buzzard is always trying to cheat people out of money.”

Quick nuance guide

• UK / Europe : “Buzzard” = a hawk‑like raptor, a regular predator.

• US / Canada : “Buzzard” = usually a vulture‑type scavenger (especially turkey vulture).

• Figurative : someone seen as greedy, heartless, or constantly hovering to take advantage, much like a scavenger around a carcass.

If you saw it in a story or online, context matters: if it’s about birds or the sky, it’s probably the animal; if it’s about someone’s behavior or an insult, it’s almost certainly the “mean/greedy person” sense.

TL;DR: “Buzzard” is mainly a big bird of prey (hawk in Europe, vulture‑like bird in North America) and, as slang, a rude way to describe a nasty or predatory person.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.