mantis

[ man-tis ]

/ ˈmæn tɪs /

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noun, plural man·tis·es, man·tes

[man-teez]. /ˈmæn tiz/.

any of several predaceous insects of the order Mantidae, having a long prothorax and typically holding the forelegs in an upraised position as if in prayer.

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Also mantid.

Also called praying mantis.

Origin of mantis

1650–60; <New Latin <Greek mántis prophet, kind of insect; akin to mania

Words nearby mantis

mantic, manticore, mantid, mantilla, Mantinea, mantis, mantispid, mantissa, mantis shrimp, mantle, mantlepiece

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use mantis in a sentence

The other camera was used to film fish and mantis shrimp, so you had to get the camera and laptop into underwater housing.
David Attenborough’s Life in Color - Issue 107: The Edge|Mary Ellen Hannibal|September 29, 2021|Nautilus
Not long ago, he came across a description from more than 40 years ago of how a mantis shrimp navigated beaches.
Mantis shrimp inspires somersaults of new soft robot|Bryn St. Clair|June 14, 2021|Science News For Students
These weapons emerged about when the mantis shrimp larvae first begin feeding on live prey, after exhausting the yolk sacs they were born with, Harrison says.
Mantis shrimp start practicing their punches at just 9 days old|Charles Choi|April 29, 2021|Science News
This odd organ is unlike anything seen in mantises before, researchers report online April 21 in the Journal of Orthoptera Research.
This praying mantis inflates a strange pheromone gland to lure mates|Jake Buehler|April 26, 2021|Science News

This mantis species is rarely encountered by researchers and might be thinly spread throughout the rainforest, so locating receptive mates could be particularly challenging.
This praying mantis inflates a strange pheromone gland to lure mates|Jake Buehler|April 26, 2021|Science News
An ex-wife of one of her conquests had even described her as a “praying mantis with a terminator smile”.
France: Carla Bruni-Sarkozy Advises Valerie Trierweiler to Marry|The Telegraph|October 26, 2012|DAILY BEAST
A few days later, Hafernik found more bees, and again fed them to the mantis.
When ‘Zombees’ Attack|Winston Ross|October 11, 2012|DAILY BEAST
A 15-year-old girl is “a five-foot-ten-inch mantis of legendary poise and ballet repute.”
Literary Fiction for Tough Guys|Taylor Antrim|March 18, 2009|DAILY BEAST
And the mantis is so voracious that you can cut her in two without making her let go; a chain, truly, of carnage.
The Natural Philosophy of Love|Remy de Gourmont
The Praying Mantis is a bright green; she boasts an elongated prothorax and an alert gait.
More Hunting Wasps|J. Henri Fabre
The Mantis-killing Tachytes, for instance, preys indiscriminately upon all the Mantides that occur in her neighbourhood.
More Hunting Wasps|J. Henri Fabre
Their centres of innervation will therefore be stabbed as well, with the leisure which the Mantis, now put out of action, permits.
More Hunting Wasps|J. Henri Fabre
And the entire race is not bound to the habits of the mantis or of other insects equally melodramatic.
Instigations|Ezra Pound

British Dictionary definitions for mantis

mantis

/ (ˈmæntɪs) /

noun plural -tises or -tes (-tiːz)

any carnivorous typically green insect of the family Mantidae, of warm and tropical regions, having a long body and large eyes and resting with the first pair of legs raised as if in prayer: order DictyopteraAlso called: praying mantis See also cockroach

Word Origin for mantis

C17: New Latin, from Greek: prophet, alluding to its praying posture

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