ladybird

British

/ ˈleɪdɪˌbɜːd /

noun

Usual US and Canadian name: ladybug. any of various small brightly coloured beetles of the family Coccinellidae, such as Adalia bipunctata ( two-spotted ladybird ), which has red elytra marked with black spots

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of ladybird

C18: named after Our Lady, the Virgin Mary

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.

Prof Wynn said after doing an ecological survey in one site he found 13 Spot Ladybird species in the area for first time in 20 years.

From BBC • Sep. 14, 2025

Francesca Dow, managing director of Penguin Random House Children's, which runs Ladybird, said Adamson's work was "uncharacteristic of the time" with her art style "being bright, pared back and uncluttered".

From BBC • Dec. 18, 2024

She decided whatever rebirth would happen for Ladybird had to include Jerry and the rest of the hungry people she’d been serving.

From Washington Post • Sep. 14, 2020

If so, you’re lucky — I, like Ladybird, would not.

From The Verge • Mar. 12, 2020

It was like a forgotten hermitage — the cave hidden beneath the growth, the strange fertility goddess statue of Our Ladybird with her tattered Miss Miss sash in place.

From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023