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dung beetle

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noun
  1. any of various scarab beetles that feed on or breed in dung.
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Origin of dung beetle

First recorded in 1625–35
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for dung beetle

Historical Examples

  • She knew very well he was not a rose-beetle; he was a dung-beetle.

    The Adventures of Maya the Bee

    Waldemar Bonsels

  • The carbuncle of the Dung-Beetle of the Pampas suggested the question.

  • I know in my neighbourhood one Dung-beetle and one alone who also works among carrion.

  • In the same manner, nothing changes in the art of the Dung-beetle, victualling himself with materials in this mine or that.

  • The square-chined, short-legged Dung-beetle excels in the art of manufacturing gourds.

British Dictionary definitions for dung beetle

dung beetle

dung chafer

noun
  1. any of the various beetles of the family Scarabaeidae and related families that feed on or breed in dung
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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