dragonfly

[ drag-uhn-flahy ]
See synonyms for dragonfly on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural drag·on·flies.
  1. any of numerous stout-bodied, nonstinging insects of the order Odonata (suborder Anisoptera), the species of which prey on mosquitoes and other insects and are distinguished from the damselflies by having the wings outstretched rather than folded when at rest.

  2. Dragonfly, Military. a two-seat, twin-turbojet U.S. attack aircraft in service since 1967, armed with a Minigun and capable of carrying nearly 5700 pounds (2585 kilograms) of ordnance.

Origin of dragonfly

1
First recorded in 1620–30; dragon + fly1

regional variation note For dragonfly

1. the dragonfly is also called a darning needle and a devil's darning needle in the Northern and Western U.S. In the Northern U.S. it is also called a sewing needle. In the Midland U.S. it is called a snake feeder, in the South Midland and Southern U.S. a snake doctor, and in the Southern U.S., especially in the Southern Coastal areas, it is called a mosquito hawk or a skeeter hawk. Spindle is also in use, chiefly in New Jersey and in the Delaware Valley. Ear sewer is in older use in some scattered regional areas.

Words Nearby dragonfly

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use dragonfly in a sentence

  • A Gnat and a dragonfly, with a great many of their relations, arrived about the same time with the Beetle.

    The Butterfly's Ball | R.M. Ballantyne
  • "Yes sir," dragonfly yelled to him from the rail fence where he was already half-way through.

  • Poetry and I stopped our game and yelled up to dragonfly to come on down and "play the winner," which meant either Poetry or me.

  • dragonfly was still coming along not more than fifty feet behind us, with little Jim staying back with him.

  • I had to pass dragonfly's open window which was still open, on account of there was still some smoke in the room.

British Dictionary definitions for dragonfly

dragonfly

/ (ˈdræɡənˌflaɪ) /


nounplural -flies
  1. any predatory insect of the suborder Anisoptera, having a large head and eyes, a long slender body, two pairs of iridescent wings that are outspread at rest, and aquatic larvae: order Odonata: See also damselfly

  2. any other insect of the order Odonata

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