insect
Americannoun
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any animal of the class Insecta, comprising small, air-breathing arthropods having the body divided into three parts (head, thorax, and abdomen), and having three pairs of legs and usually two pairs of wings.
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any small arthropod, such as a spider, tick, or centipede, having a superficial, general similarity to the insects.
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a contemptible or unimportant person.
adjective
noun
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any small air-breathing arthropod of the class Insecta, having a body divided into head, thorax, and abdomen, three pairs of legs, and (in most species) two pairs of wings. Insects comprise about five sixths of all known animal species, with a total of over one million named species
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(loosely) any similar invertebrate, such as a spider, tick, or centipede
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a contemptible, loathsome, or insignificant person
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Any of very numerous, mostly small arthropods of the class Insecta, having six segmented legs in the adult stage and a body divided into three parts (the head, thorax, and abdomen). The head has a pair of antennae and the thorax usually has one or two pairs of wings. Most insects undergo substantial change in form during development from the young to the adult stage. More than 800,000 species are known, most of them beetles. Other insects include flies, bees, ants, grasshoppers, butterflies, cockroaches, aphids, and silverfish.
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See Notes at biomass bug entomology
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of insect
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin insectum, noun use of neuter of insectus, past participle of insecāre “to incise, cut”; translation of Greek éntomon “insect,” literally, “notched or incised one”; see entomo-; cf. segment
Explanation
An insect is commonly called a bug. Flies, bees, and wasps are all insects. Insects are the tiny marvels of the natural world. From industrious ants to dazzling butterflies, these miniature critters come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, each with its own special role in ecosystems worldwide. With over a million species identified and countless more waiting to be discovered, insects continue to fascinate scientists and inspire curiosity in nature lovers everywhere. Insect comes from the Latin phrase animal insectum, which means "animal with a cut up (segmented) body."
Vocabulary lists containing insect
Buzzwords for National Honey Bee Day
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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A Cut Above: Sect, Sec
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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:
They designed new dry flies—different from wet flies in that they float on water—that more closely resembled local insect life and performed better on the region’s fast-moving rivers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
For decades, the U.S. has maintained a program in which these flies are bred in a lab, bathed in sterilizing radiation and released around Panama, which prevents the insect from creeping northward.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
Sterile insect technique has been used for years to decrease and control pests.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
They help maintain the balance of woodland habitats by influencing soil health, insect populations and the wider food web.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
“During war, government said must eat insect to survive. Also, it will give you energy because grasshopper have many energy. They have almost as much energy as me when I your age, Aki.”
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
Duan believes these hairs may have evolved as an early warning system that alerts mammals when insects or parasites come into contact with sensitive areas of the body.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026
They also produce nectar-rich native flowers, which can support hundreds of species of insects.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
"I think it's a very broad contribution for people that are working with insects, frogs, and all kinds of groups, animal groups, in which we have both maternal care and paternal care."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026
The findings underscore an ongoing challenge for modern agriculture: protecting crops from destructive pests without harming the beneficial insects that support food production.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026
They saw nothing, they heard nothing, only the insects and the noise of the wind.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
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.
