cicada

American  

[si-kay-duh, -kah-] / sɪˈkeɪ də, -ˈkɑ- /

noun

• cicadas,
  plural
• cicadae
  plural

1. any large homopterous insect of the family Cicadidae, the male of which produces a shrill sound by means of vibrating membranes on the underside of the abdomen.

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cicada British  

/ sɪˈkɑːdə /

noun

1. any large broad insect of the homopterous family Cicadidae, most common in warm regions. Cicadas have membranous wings and the males produce a high-pitched drone by vibration of a pair of drumlike abdominal organs

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cicadae
  plural
• cicadas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cicada

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin cicāda

Explanation

A cicada is a large, winged insect that makes a distinctive vibrating sound. You might hear hundreds of male cicadas singing loudly on a summer night. Cicadas are often confused with locusts, which are a similar size, a little under two inches long, but are unrelated to cicadas. Depending on the species, cicadas live underground for anywhere from two to seventeen years before emerging for a few weeks of adulthood. Beyond their loud summer buzz, cicadas have a deep cultural history: Their discarded shells are a staple in traditional Chinese medicine, and they’ve been a popular food source from ancient Greece to modern-day Appalachia, where locals affectionately call them "jarflies."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cicada cicadae cicadas

The U.S., where there are both annual and periodical cicada swarms, tends to take a more laissez-faire approach.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

The New Forest cicada, Cicadetta montana, was once found across the national park - but the last confirmed sightings were in the 1990s.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

The summer’s unpleasant cicada infestation, meanwhile, is a stark reminder that his preferred droning screech comes from his dot-matrix printer, spitting out keyboard-symbol drawings he makes for customers who send him cash.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 16, 2026

“Most trees and shrubs will bounce back from cicada damage just fine,” he said.

From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2024

As my mother and I approached the summer heat bore down on us, and a cicada started up, like an aerial lawnmower, in the heart of a copper beech tree at the back.

From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath

It was in the month of August; and the whole countryside was ringing with the song of the cicadae.

From Fabre, Poet of Science by Bernard Miall

When we stop, which we do often, for emigrants and freight travel together, the kine first, the man after, the whole plain is heard singing with cicadae.

From The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson for Boys and Girls by Robert Louis Stevenson

Yet perhaps with sunflowers and cicadae, summer and winter, cattle, wife and family, the settler may create a full and various existence.

From Across the Plains by Robert Louis Stevenson

Wherever it appeared, moreover, the red-eyed cicadae were in abundance.

From Discoveries in Australia, Volume 2 Discoveries in Australia; with an Account of the Coasts and Rivers Explored and Surveyed During the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, in The Years 1837-38-39-40-41-42-43. By Command of the Lords Commissioners Of the Admiralty. Also a Narrative of Captain Owen Stanley's Visits To the Islands in the Arafura Sea by John Lort Stokes

Suddenly the jungle was stilled, even from the voice of the rasping cicadae; the leaves had ceased to whisper, for the wind had hushed.

From Caste by William Alexander Fraser

There was the chirping of cicadas and the crunch of desiccated pine needles underfoot, but the most remarkable thing about the place was the quiet.

From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026

Local officials said 22,000 cicadas were captured this year, that residents reported less noise and that the situation appeared to stabilize.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

"We are now able to look forward to a time when we can once again walk through the New Forest in summer and hear hundreds of cicadas singing their hearts out."

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

Some individuals compare the noise to cicadas or even a passing freight train, Price said.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 10, 2026

The crickets and cicadas had faded for the year, leaving the night quiet and undisturbed.

From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia

Related Words

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