cicada

American  

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

noun

plural

cicadas, cicadae

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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Etymology

Origin of cicada

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin cicāda

Example Sentences

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

When we stepped onto the back porch, the whir of the cicadas made us both jump.

From Literature

Outdoors, the yard is alive with 17-year cicadas who are generating an increasingly eerie background hum while cheerful daytime television hosts lightly suggest ways to turn the situation into a positive.

From The Wall Street Journal

The crickets and cicadas make a ceaseless, deafening buzz, coyotes cry mournfully in the distance, songbirds cheep and squawk at the first hint of dawn.

From Literature

Leroy, observing an old superstition, made an oath to the awakening cicadas that he will turn himself in if he’s given the chance to make peace with Berta.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• grasshopper