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:
Cerutti has renaturalised about a third of her 110 hectare property, including 25 hectares that have been turned into wetlands, which are now home to rare species such as the Large Copper butterfly.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
The schoolgirl was named a Games MVP on Sunday to cap an extraordinary showing that saw her scorch to gold in the 200m butterfly and do the 200m-400m individual medley double.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
The migratory butterfly enjoyed a strong year nationally.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
She said the group was always on the lookout for new arrivals and had already recorded the willow emerald damselfly, the southern oak bush cricket and the purple emperor butterfly, as more species travelled north.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
He copied and pasted every new butterfly logo he found into his own document.
From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
To examine how different pollinators interact, the team divided flower visitors into five groups: honey bees, bumble bees, solitary bees, hoverflies, and an 'other' category containing butterflies, beetles, and wasps.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026
"Since the first trees were planted, there has been a spectacular increase in butterflies, dragonflies, and biodiversity in general," said the 43-year-old, who took over running the family's Cascina Oschina farm in 2012.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
Younger students have been using the outdoor classroom areas to talk and play games, while others have been watching figeater beetles and butterflies visit flowering trees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
But Jones described a rare ecosystem housing specialist plants, butterflies and insects, "where the UK is the epicentre globally".
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
He decided he would talk about monarch butterflies with Mr. Grayson later.
From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold
“The shucked abalone is trimmed, butterflied, and thwacked lightly with a mallet.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
My wife loved the bronzino, served whole, deboned and butterflied.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2022
Then there’s butterflied branzino, one side painted red, the other green, with sauces coaxed from guajillo mayonnaise and tomatillo and serrano, respectively.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 30, 2022
“I’ve butterflied in other places, but this is where you go to get some incredible tropical butterflies that you won’t see anywhere else.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 6, 2022
Cattle carcasses, flayed and butterflied, flitted past the wide observation window.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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
Unlike the pursuit of birding, butterflying takes place at a civilized hour because butterflies don’t come out until the day warms to at least 60 degrees.
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
Went butterflying with Chick Chickering today, it is a little early for them, but we got two blew and black ones and three little red ones.
From The Real Diary of a Real Boy by Henry A. (Henry Augustus) Shute
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