wingless

[wing-lis]

adjective

having no wings.

having only rudimentary wings, as an apteryx.

Origin of wingless

First recorded in 1585–95; wing + -less

Related formswing·less·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for wingless

Contemporary Examples of wingless

When one designer randomly drew a picture of round, wingless birds with bushy eyebrows, they knew they had an idea.
The Week's Best Journalism
The Daily Beast
February 11, 2011

Historical Examples of wingless

It was about three times her size, and slim, low, and wingless.
The Adventures of Maya the Bee
Waldemar Bonsels
The mature males have two wings but the mature females are wingless.
Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Nature Study
Ontario Ministry of Education
It was wingless and covered smoothly with pastel-blue feathers.
Traders Risk
Roger Dee
It was peculiarly the age of egg-bearing animals, winged and wingless.
The Testimony of the Rocks
Hugh Miller
Grôm tore them off, and slammed the writhing, wingless bodies into the fire.
In the Morning of Time
Charles G. D. Roberts

British Dictionary definitions for wingless

wingless

adjective

having no wings or vestigial wings

designating primitive insects of the subclass Apterygota, characterized by small size, lack of wings, and larvae resembling the adults: includes the springtails and bristletails

Derived Formswinglessness, noun

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