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ant lion

or ant·li·on

See more synonyms for ant lion on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. any of several insects belonging to the family Myrmeleontidae, of the order Neuroptera, the larvae of which dig a pit in sand where they lie in wait to prey upon ants or other insects that lose their footing.
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Origin of ant lion

First recorded in 1805–15
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for ant lion

Historical Examples

  • The ambuscade of the Ant-lion is classic; it does not differ greatly from the others.

    The Industries of Animals

    Frdric Houssay

  • Indeed, she felt rather grateful to the ant-lion, ugly as he was, for killing them.

  • But I'll tell you about a little fellow called the ant-lion.

    Little Busybodies

    Jeanette Augustus Marks and Julia Moody

  • The naturalist, Bonnet, put a spider and her bag of eggs in the pit of an ant-lion.

  • The ant-lion was the larval form the lace-wing fly, of course.

    Nightmare Planet

    Murray Leinster