grasshopper
Americannoun
-
grasshoppers
plural
-
any of numerous herbivorous, orthopterous insects, especially of the families Acrididae and Tettigoniidae, having the hind legs adapted for leaping and having chewing mouth parts, some species being highly destructive to vegetation.
-
a small, light airplane used on low-flying missions, as for reconnaissance.
-
Military. Grasshopper, a U.S. antipersonnel mine that jumps off the ground when activated by proximate body heat and sprays shrapnel over a lethal radius of 350 feet (107 meters).
-
a cocktail of light cream, green crème de menthe, and white crème de menthe or crème de cacao.
noun
-
any orthopterous insect of the families Acrididae ( short-horned grasshoppers ) and Tettigoniidae ( long-horned grasshoppers ), typically terrestrial, feeding on plants, and producing a ticking sound by rubbing the hind legs against the leathery forewings See also locust katydid
-
informal very young or very small
-
an iced cocktail of equal parts of crème de menthe, crème de cacao, and cream
-
(modifier) unable to concentrate on any one subject for long
a grasshopper mind
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of grasshopper
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English; see origin at grass ( def. ), hopper ( def. )
Explanation
Grasshoppers are chirping insects that hop. A grasshopper can use its long legs to leap up to 20 times its own body length — that's pretty impressive for a bug! Grasshoppers are related to crickets and katydids. The origin of the word grasshopper is instantly clear once you see a grassy field full of these leaping insects. The insects "chirp" by rubbing their legs against their wings. In some parts of the world, grasshoppers are eaten by humans, and they are often viewed as pests because of their appetite for grains. Swarms of grasshoppers have at various times been responsible for the destruction of entire fields of crops.
Vocabulary lists containing grasshopper
The United States
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Spelling Practice, Unit 2
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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:
Bernard Suits, a philosopher who focused on sports, disagreed, and he drew on Aesop’s fable of the ant and the grasshopper in his inventive rebuttal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
The researchers partnered with farmers in Senegal who regularly face outbreaks of the Senegalese grasshopper.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 24, 2026
Her metal artworks include a large grasshopper and a dinosaur, which are installed in her garden.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2025
Whether you are a grasshopper or a bird or a human, if you start destroying the environment in which you live, then you are overpopulated.
From Salon ● Nov. 30, 2024
There is a story too that he shrank and shrank in size until at last Aurora with a feeling for the natural fitness of things turned him into the skinny and noisy grasshopper.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
“The Aztec culture pervades Mexico City’s daily life today in a thousand subtle ways,” Romero says, passing me a bowl of roasted grasshoppers, a crunchy pre-Hispanic snack.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Halpin added that people who might want to create a good habitat for grasshoppers should have a mixture of high and short grass.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Among the more poignant moments, Charles laments the loss of wildlife at Highgrove, noting when he first moved in there nearly five decades ago he would hear cuckoos and see grasshoppers.
From Barron's ● Jan. 28, 2026
"The study gave them a better understanding of grasshoppers and locusts, as well as a practical way to control them at the local level."
From Science Daily ● Jan. 24, 2026
The Wart felt a man on either side of him take his hand, as they stood in a circle, and then he noticed that the stridulation of the grasshoppers had begun again.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
