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:
She bribes the boys with ice cream so they’ll indulge her road trips into butterfly country, and even then, compliance is sometimes grudging.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
The novelist Hermann Hesse and the statesman Winston Churchill, both butterfly lovers, figure into her thumbnail survey, too.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Earlier research found that Facebook contained records for 167 of 169 threatened butterfly species in Bangladesh.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026
Reserves manager Helen Deavin said the site supported "rare and unusual species", including nesting bitterns, the swallowtail butterfly and a pair of cranes that successfully raised a chick this summer.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
The screen changed to the image of a beautiful blue butterfly, only an inch wide from wing to wing.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
It was an unlikely project for a busy news executive, wife and mother who knew little about butterflies, and Ms. Korsgaard wasn’t initially sure why she’d assigned herself the challenge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
The team found 111 relevant studies involving butterflies in Bangladesh.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026
The markers were engraved with butterflies, with pairs of butterfly-shaped flower arrangements next to the graves along with bouquets containing a mix of white and purple roses, daisies and carnations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
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
In fact, if it weren’t for the butterflies that seemed to multiply in Jonah’s stomach as October 28 approached, Jonah almost could have believed that his life had gone back to normal.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
“The shucked abalone is trimmed, butterflied, and thwacked lightly with a mallet.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
My favorite part of this recipe is that it stretches your dollar by using an entire, butterflied chicken instead of individual breasts or thighs.
From Salon ● Mar. 15, 2023
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
Instead, she butterflied a pork belly and rolled it around a pork loin, fat side out.
From New York Times ● Sep. 21, 2021
I sat as far away from him as possible without falling off the bench, elbows butterflied to give me even more room.
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
“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
For some butterfly watchers, even a gentle netting is too disturbing, and they advocate butterflying with special binoculars that feature a short focal point.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 9, 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
July 28. brite and fair. i am going with Potter and Chick Chickering instead of Pewt and Beany. we went butterflying today.
From 'Sequil' Or Things Whitch Aint Finished in the First by Henry A. (Henry Augustus) Shute
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.
