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tiger beetle

American

noun

any of numerous active, usually brightly colored beetles, of the family Cicindelidae, that prey on other insects.

tiger beetle British

noun

any active predatory beetle of the family Cicindelidae, chiefly of warm dry regions, having powerful mandibles and long legs

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of tiger beetle

First recorded in 1820–30

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:

tiger beetle

The northern dune tiger beetle is particularly fast moving and can travel at up to 2.5m a second, said Harper.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

The 12 diurnal tiger beetle species that the researchers included in the study are evidence of this.

From Science Daily ● May 15, 2024

What’s left provides habitats for more than three dozen imperiled species, including the Florida leafwing butterfly, the Miami tiger beetle, and the Florida bonneted bat.

From National Geographic ● Dec. 7, 2023

Among those making an appearance: the Monarch butterfly, the nine-spotted ladybug, the Puritan tiger beetle, the Hawaiian hammer-headed fruit fly, the Mt.

From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2022

At certain rotten trunks I was sure to get the curious little tiger beetle, Therates flavilabris.

From The Malay Archipelago, the land of the orang-utan and the bird of paradise; a narrative of travel, with studies of man and nature — Volume 1 by Wallace, Alfred Russel

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023