praying mantis
Americannoun
-
praying mantises
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of praying mantis
First recorded in 1700–10
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.
No insect shocks him more than the female praying mantis, a creature with a pious name that belies her appetite for other insects—and even for her own mate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
We chatted and fed some house flies to a large praying mantis perched on the branch of a trumpet flower shrub.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2023
Like the praying mantis who's male through the whole thing, and then has this egg sac, but Mom and I still call it "he."
From Salon ● Nov. 15, 2021
She liked insects so much as a child, she remembers getting in trouble with her parents because she had forgotten that she had left praying mantis eggs in her treasure box.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 20, 2021
Perhaps we may have noticed an oddly shaped insect of ferocious mien on a bush in the garden and been dimly aware that the praying mantis lives at the expense of other insects.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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