albatross Definition

albatross
noun albatrosses

1. A large seabird, found mainly in the southern oceans, with a powerful hooked beak, a stout body, long narrow wings, and white plumage with black (or sometimes brown) patches.
2. An oppressive and inescapable fact or influence from one's past.
3. golf.
A score of three under par. Compare birdie 2, eagle 3, bogey².

Etymology: 17c: from Portuguese alcatraz pelican; sense 2 is derived from Coleridge's Ancient Mariner.