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Synonyms

stridulate

American  
[strij-uh-leyt] / ˈstrɪdʒ əˌleɪt /

verb (used without object)

stridulated, stridulating
  1. to produce a shrill, grating sound, as a cricket does, by rubbing together certain parts of the body; shrill.


stridulate British  
/ ˈstrɪdjʊˌleɪt, ˈstrɪdjʊˌleɪtərɪ /

verb

  1. (intr) (of insects such as the cricket) to produce sounds by rubbing one part of the body against another

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of stridulate

First recorded in 1830–40; back formation from stridulation; see stridulous, -ate 1, -ion

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:

Like crickets and katydids, they can stridulate by rubbing its body parts together to attract a mate or ward off potential predators.

From Scientific American Apr. 26, 2013

Many grasshoppers stridulate by rubbing the hind legs across strong nervures on the fore wings.

From The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary Section S by Project Gutenberg

Many insects stridulate by rubbing together specially modified parts of their hard integuments.

From The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals by Darwin, Charles

Beetles stridulate under various emotions, in the same manner as birds use their voices for many purposes besides singing to their mates.

From The Descent of Man by Darwin, Charles

The insects which employ the fourth method also stridulate during night.

From The Scrap Book, Volume 1, No. 6 August 1906 by Various

Decrepit, senile, and miserable, Tithonus eventually shrank into a cicada who stridulated ceaselessly, calling out for release.

From The New Yorker Mar. 27, 2017

The insects buzzed, whined, hummed, stridulated and droned as the air grew warmer in the sunset.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

From Vera Cruz to Jalapa, more than 100 miles, were "hordes" of grasshoppers, gaily munching crops, stopping trains and stridulating with much gusto.

From Time Magazine Archive

We thus see that the stridulating organs in the different coleopterous families are wonderfully diversified in position, but not much in structure.

From The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, Vol. I by Darwin, Charles

Insects and some few spiders are the lowest animals which voluntarily produce any sound; and this is generally effected by the aid of beautifully constructed stridulating organs, which are often confined to the males.

From The Descent of Man by Darwin, Charles

In a large number 669 of beetles of different families, stridulating areas occur on various segments of the abdomen, and are scraped by the elytra.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 6 "Cockaigne" to "Columbus, Christopher" by Various

Stridulation: a creaking sound produced by rubbing together two striated or otherwise roughened surfaces: the act of stridulating or the noise produced by it.

From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by Smith, John. B.

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