butterfly

[buht-er-flahy]

noun

plural

butterflies 

1. any of numerous diurnal insects of the order Lepidoptera, characterized by clubbed antennae, a slender body, and large, broad, often conspicuously marked wings.

2. a person who flits aimlessly from one interest or group to another.

   a social butterfly.

3. (used with a plural verb),  butterflies, a queasy feeling, as from nervousness, excitement, etc.

4. a racing breaststroke, using a dolphin kick, in which the swimmer brings both arms out of the water in forward, circular motions.

5. Carpentry.,  butterfly wedge.

6. Sculpture.,  an X -shaped support attached to an armature.

7. one of the swinging brackets of a butterfly table.

8. Movies.,  a screen of scrim, gauze, or similar material, for diffusing light.

verb (used with object)

butterflied, butterflying 

1. Cooking.,  to slit open and spread apart to resemble the spread wings of a butterfly.

adjective

1. Cooking.,  split open and spread apart to resemble a butterfly.

   butterfly shrimp; butterfly steak.

butterfly

/ ˈbʌtəˌflaɪ /

noun

1. 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

2. a person who never settles with one group, interest, or occupation for long

3. a swimming stroke in which the arms are plunged forward together in large circular movements

4. 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

• butterflylike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of butterfly¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English boterflye, Old English buttorflēoge; equivalent to butter + fly ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of butterfly¹

Old English buttorflēoge ; the name perhaps is based on a belief that butterflies stole milk and butter

Example Sentences

Not only is the result prettier than grass, the plants also support pollinators like moths and butterflies.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Not just for the beautiful colours but for the vibrancy of the bees, butterflies and moths flying around, which need that habitat.

Read more on BBC

Roswell residents know how to have fun, and the city hosts all kinds of annual festivals ranging from a summertime ice cream social and monarch butterfly celebration to outdoor movies.

Read more on MarketWatch

Just like butterflies grow inside a cocoon, planets form inside the cozy belly of protoplanetary discs.

Read more on Space Scoop

Even in the most wholesome times in his life, as a little league baseball player and school theater kid, he would get a similar “butterfly in the stomach feeling” from the performance of it all.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• ant 
• aphid 
• bee 
• beetle 
• cockroach 
• dragonfly 
• flea 
• fruit fly 
• gnat 
• grasshopper 
• ladybug 
• mite 
• mosquito 
• moth 
• pest 
• spider 
• termite 
• tick