1. a breeding place or colony where rooks or other birds nest together
2. a breeding place where seals, penguins, or other animals gather in large numbers
3. a crowded, run-down tenement building or slum area
Usage: archaic

Examples

• The old oak tree housed a large rookery of black birds.
• We observed hundreds of seals at the coastal rookery.
• The penguin rookery stretched for miles along the Antarctic shore.
• Researchers study the breeding patterns at the bird rookery each spring.
• The noise from the rookery could be heard from a great distance.
• Conservation efforts help protect the seal rookery from human interference.