stick insect

American  

noun

1. walking stick.

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stick insect British  

noun

1. Also called (US and Canadian): walking stick. any of various mostly tropical insects of the family Phasmidae that have an elongated cylindrical body and long legs and resemble twigs: order Phasmida See also leaf insect

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Etymology

Origin of stick insect

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stick insect

Its eggs contain an unusual structural lid that has not previously been documented in any stick insect or its closest relatives.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026

To address this gap, Patrik Nosil, an evolutionary biologist with France’s national research agency CNRS, and colleagues studied populations of the stick insect Timema cristinae.

From Science Magazine ● May 23, 2024

The Lord Howe Island stick insect, which is from an island off Australia and was thought to have been extinct for decades.

From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2022

Charlie, a green bean stick insect, showed its true colours after it shed its skin at home in Suffolk to reveal the bright green body of a female and brown wings of a male.

From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2022

“Hello, stick insect, my name is Roz. You are very well camouflaged.”

From "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown