red admiral

American

noun

admiral6

red admiral British

noun

a nymphalid butterfly, Vanessa atalanta , of temperate Europe and Asia, having black wings with red and white markings See also white admiral

"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

Etymology

Origin of red admiral

First recorded in 1830–40

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:

red admiral

The meadow brown took the second spot in Devon, followed by the red admiral.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

He retains a vivid picture of that moment: he was gazing at some Michaelmas daisies when a red admiral flew in.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 13, 2020

But I have an additional reason to hail the advent of warm weather and sunshine: the return of butterflies, particularly the red admiral — a species with which I have a special relationship.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 20, 2020

The bright fire-colours of the red admiral, with its velvet black wings slashed with crimson, inspired images of an inferno.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2015

A red admiral fluttered onto the small of his back to drink from the puddle of sweat there.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023