Caterpillar

¹ American  

[kat-uh-pil-er, kat-er-] / ˈkæt əˌpɪl ər, ˈkæt ər- /

Trademark.

1. a tractor intended for rough terrain, propelled by two endless belts or tracks that pass over a number of wheels.

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caterpillar ² American  

[kat-uh-pil-er, kat-er-] / ˈkæt əˌpɪl ər, ˈkæt ər- /

noun

1. the wormlike larva of a butterfly or a moth.

2. a person who preys on others; extortioner.

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Caterpillar ¹ British  

/ ˈkætəˌpɪlə /

noun

1. an endless track, driven by sprockets or wheels, used to propel a heavy vehicle and enable it to cross soft or uneven ground

2. a vehicle, such as a tractor, tank, bulldozer, etc, driven by such tracks

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caterpillar ² British  

/ ˈkætəˌpɪlə /

noun

1. the wormlike larva of butterflies and moths, having numerous pairs of legs and powerful biting jaws. It may be brightly coloured, hairy, or spiny

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caterpillar Scientific  

/ kăt′ər-pĭl′ər /

1. The wormlike larva of a butterfly or moth. Caterpillars have thirteen body segments, with three pairs of stubby legs on the thorax and several on the abdomen, six eyes on each side of the head, and short antennae. Caterpillars feed mostly on foliage and are usually brightly colored. Many have poisonous spines.

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Etymology

Origin of caterpillar

1400–50; late Middle English catyrpel, probably alteration of an Old North French variant of Old French chatepelose, equivalent to chate cat ( def. ) + pelose hairy (≪ Latin pilōsus; pilose ); -yr probably by association with cater tomcat ( caterwaul ); final -er probably by association with piller despoiler ( pillage, -er ¹ ); chenille

Example Sentences

The newspaper goes down and the big caterpillar eyebrows scrunch even tighter.

From Literature

After years of work with landowners by the charity Butterfly Conservation, the latest survey of silken caterpillar nests has seen huge increases.

From BBC

Trefry likened this awkward time of life to the stage in a butterfly’s development when a caterpillar disappears inside a chrysalis and dissolves into goo before reforming into something entirely new.

From Salon

Did you know that most caterpillars are only able to digest leaves from certain families of trees?

From The Wall Street Journal

Their leaves feed caterpillars, their bark shelters bats and beetles, and their acorns sustain mammals and birds through the winter.

From BBC