beetle

¹

[ beet-l ]

noun

1. any of numerous insects of the order Coleoptera, characterized by hard, horny forewings that cover and protect the membranous flight wings.
2. (loosely) any of various insects resembling the beetle, as a cockroach.

verb (used without object)

, bee·tled, bee·tling.

1. Chiefly British. to move quickly; scurry:

   He beetled off to catch the train.

beetle

²

[ beet-l ]

noun

1. a heavy hammering or ramming instrument, usually of wood, used to drive wedges, force down paving stones, compress loose earth, etc.
2. any of various wooden instruments for beating linen, mashing potatoes, etc.

verb (used with object)

, bee·tled, bee·tling.

1. to use a beetle on; drive, ram, beat, or crush with a beetle.
2. to finish (cloth) with a beetling machine.

beetle

³

[ beet-l ]

adjective

1. projecting; overhanging:

   beetle brows.

verb (used without object)

, bee·tled, bee·tling.

1. to project; jut out; overhang:

   a cliff that beetles over the sea; his mustache and beetling brows; thick eyebrows beetling over blue eyes.

2. to hang or tower over in a threatening or menacing manner:

   The prospect of bankruptcy beetled over him.

beetle

¹

/ ˈbiːtəl /

noun

1. any insect of the order Coleoptera , having biting mouthparts and forewings modified to form shell-like protective elytra coleopteran
2. a game played with dice in which the players draw or assemble a beetle-shaped form

verb

1. informal.
   to scuttle or scurry; hurry

beetle

²

/ ˈbiːtəl /

verb

1. intr to overhang; jut

adjective

1. overhanging; prominent

beetle

³

/ ˈbiːtəl /

noun

1. a heavy hand tool, usually made of wood, used for ramming, pounding, or beating
2. a machine used to finish cloth by stamping it with wooden hammers

verb

1. to beat or pound with a beetle
2. to finish (cloth) by means of a beetle

Derived Forms

• ˈbeetling, adjective

Other Words From

• beetler noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of beetle¹

First recorded before 900; late Middle English bit(t)il, betylle, bityl, Old English bitel(a), betl, derivative of bītan bite

Origin of beetle²

First recorded before 900; Middle English betel, bitille “mallet, hammer,” Old English bītel, bētel, bȳtel (cognate with Middle Low German bētel “chisel”), derivative of bē(a)tan beat

Origin of beetle³

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; back formation from beetle-browed none

Word History and Origins

Origin of beetle¹

Old English bitela ; related to bitol teeth, bit , bītan to bite

Origin of beetle²

C14: perhaps related to beetle ¹

Origin of beetle³

Old English bīetel , from bēatan to beat ; related to Middle Low German bētel chisel, Old Norse beytill penis

Example Sentences

Examples include some beetles and rainforest kangaroos called pademelons.

From Science News For Students

The diabolical ironclad beetle is like a tiny tank on six legs.

From Science News For Students

Near the back of the beetle, the ridges are not as tightly interlocked.

From Science News For Students

He writes of the beetles that save mimosa trees in Houston, his daughter’s death at age 38 and greeting “small nervous birds” in walks along the sea.

From Washington Post

Last weekend, China’s customs agency banned imports of timber from Queensland, claiming it had found a beetle infestation in one shipment.

From Fortune

Blister rust is like having the flu; the pine beetle is like fast acting leukemia.

From The Daily Beast

In 2007, FWS reported that the beetle outbreak had affected only 16 percent of the whitebark pines.

From The Daily Beast

The Beetle was launched with a series of television commercials unlike any before them.

From The Daily Beast

Who could turn down a seaside drive in a bright yellow Beetle?

From The Daily Beast

The rhino beetle—fried, stewed, grilled, or roasted—is high in calcium and protein.

From The Daily Beast

Her feet crush creeping things: there is a busy ant or blazoned beetle, with its back broken, writhing in the dust, unseen.

From Project Gutenberg

But strangest of all the dishes at the Tagal's feast was one prepared from a kind of beetle.

From Project Gutenberg

Then the juice would fill up the hole the beetle had made, and the tree would go on growing as before.

From Project Gutenberg

There was a toy balloon, a beetle that ran all over the room in a life-like manner, a jumping jack, and some popcorn balls.

From Project Gutenberg

Old Mr. Ford declared he had not laughed so much in twenty years as he did at the antics of the boys and the beetle.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• ant
• aphid
• bee
• butterfly
• cockroach
• dragonfly
• flea
• fruit fly
• gnat
• grasshopper
• ladybug
• mite
• mosquito
• moth
• pest
• spider
• termite
• tick