butterfly
Americannoun
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butterflies
plural
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any of numerous diurnal insects of the order Lepidoptera, characterized by clubbed antennae, a slender body, and large, broad, often conspicuously marked wings.
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a person who flits aimlessly from one interest or group to another.
a social butterfly.
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(used with a plural verb) butterflies, a queasy feeling, as from nervousness, excitement, etc.
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a racing breaststroke, using a dolphin kick, in which the swimmer brings both arms out of the water in forward, circular motions.
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Carpentry. butterfly wedge.
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Sculpture. an X -shaped support attached to an armature.
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one of the swinging brackets of a butterfly table.
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Movies. a screen of scrim, gauze, or similar material, for diffusing light.
verb (used with object)
adjective
noun
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any diurnal insect of the order Lepidoptera that has a slender body with clubbed antennae and typically rests with the wings (which are often brightly coloured) closed over the back Compare moth
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a person who never settles with one group, interest, or occupation for long
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a swimming stroke in which the arms are plunged forward together in large circular movements
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commerce the simultaneous purchase and sale of traded call options, at different exercise prices or with different expiry dates, on a stock exchange or commodity market
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of butterfly
First recorded before 1000; Middle English boterflye, Old English buttorflēoge; equivalent to butter + fly 1
Explanation
A butterfly is a flying insect with a small body and large, often colorful wings. Some gardeners plant specific flowers that attract butterflies. Butterflies are closely related to moths, which also have wings that are large in proportion to their bodies and antennae. A butterfly is distinctive because of its relatively large size and lovely, patterned wings. After hatching, they start as caterpillars, and eventually build a chrysalis, inside of which they transform into — and emerge as — a butterfly. The origin of butterfly isn't certain, though it may come from some butterflies' pale yellow color.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Le Clos, who famously beat Michael Phelps to win 200m butterfly gold at the London Olympics in 2012, said he has launched a fundraising campaign to help his neighbours affected by the blaze.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Ms. Williams delights in the paradoxes of butterfly evolution, including monarch caterpillars’ calibrated resistance to milkweed toxins.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Scenic painter Miriam Hellmann was the skillful hand behind the mural’s final product: an image of a giant, bright orange poppy, a butterfly and a peacock, along with floral and faunal symbols.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Thatcher, his latest anointed icon, fares no better than a butterfly pinned to his mood board.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
When he turns at the end of the lane and swims the butterfly back, I step out of the alcove into plain sight.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Like the fragile butterflies that flitter around Alicent after Helaena’s death, she was too good for all of this nonsense.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
Skubal made no apologies about the butterflies he was feeling.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
"We've lost these plants now, and it will take years of work to restore the meadow so that marbled white butterflies can return," said Brown.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
The butterflies never go away, Dalton said, and an adrenaline rush right before a physically demanding stunt is inevitable.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
My heartbeat was fluttering, making me think of trapped butterflies, but did I even have a heartbeat right now?
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
“The shucked abalone is trimmed, butterflied, and thwacked lightly with a mallet.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
For some dishes, a pounded-out cutlet, butterflied breast or a thin-sliced chicken breast may be the way to go.
From Salon ● Mar. 26, 2022
The butterflied grilled perch recipe is inspired by the chef Sergio Peñuelas, from Nayarit, in Mexico, and his pescado zarandeado.
From New York Times ● Jan. 28, 2022
His Lincoln Logs is a butterflied frank layered with cream cheese, a version that sort of splits the difference between the classic sandwich and a Seattle dog.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 1, 2021
He was just sitting on the track with his feet pressed together, his long legs butterflied.
From "Patina" by Jason Reynolds
Our solution came in a well-tested technique for evenly roasting chickens: spatchcocking, or butterflying, which involves cutting out and discarding a bird’s backbone so it can be spread open and flattened.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 19, 2023
“I came back to butterflying out of the blue - a childhood passion rekindled nine years ago at a butterfly gathering in the Blue Mountains.”
From Washington Times ● Jul. 24, 2016
Jazmin starts by butterflying a chicken thigh with a deft stroke of her knife.
From Salon ● May 21, 2012
He came butterflying and frog-kicking down the final lap of the 220-yard breaststroke race to win.
From Time Magazine Archive
And Camy, I doubt very much whether I'd care for butterflying.
From The Royal Book of Oz In which the Scarecrow goes to search for his family tree and discovers that he is the Long Lost Emperor of the Silver Island by Ruth Plumly Thompson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
