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:
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
The gardens said that since the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme began in 1976, overall butterfly abundance has dropped by nearly 20%.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
Sean Clough says the discovery of the small skipper butterfly is "rare for a city"
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
It’s so close, I now see tiny luminescent fins like a butterfly dimming to a pale lavender the closer it flutters to the surface.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
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
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
Butterfly Conservation's Kate Merry said it was too early to know whether recent warm weather would result in a strong year for butterflies.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
My butterflies awaken and start their sickly rubbing of my insides.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
“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
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
In the larger refrigerated chambers, hooks impaled butterflied swine and cattle rimed with frost, their pale ribs gleaming in the shallow light.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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
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
But I like the Professor; and his philosophic views have an interest for me that they evidently 56do not possess for natures which will be always butterflying about.
From Happy-Thought Hall by Sir F. C. (Francis Cowley) Burnand
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.
