Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. butterfly(noun)

   diurnal insect typically having a slender body with knobbed antennae and broad colorful wings

2. butterfly, butterfly stroke(verb)

   a swimming stroke in which the arms are thrown forward together out of the water while the feet kick up and down

3. butterfly(verb)

   flutter like a butterfly

4. butterfly(verb)

   cut and spread open, as in preparation for cooking

   "butterflied shrimp"

5. chat up, flirt, dally, butterfly, coquet, coquette, romance, philander, mash(verb)

   talk or behave amorously, without serious intentions

   "The guys always try to chat up the new secretaries"; "My husband never flirts with other women"

Wiktionary(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. butterfly(Noun)

   A flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, distinguished from moths by their diurnal activity and generally brighter colouring.

2. butterfly(Noun)

   Someone seen as being unserious and (originally) dressed gaudily; someone flighty and unreliable.

3. butterfly(Noun)

   The butterfly stroke.

4. butterfly(Noun)

   A use of surgical tape, cut into thin strips and placed across an open wound to hold it closed.

   butterfly tape

5. butterfly(Verb)

   To cut almost entirely in half and spread the halves apart, in a shape suggesting the wings of a butterfly.

6. butterfly(Verb)

   To cut strips of surgical tape or plasters into thin strips, and place across a gaping wound to close it.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Butterfly(noun)

   a general name for the numerous species of diurnal Lepidoptera

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Butterfly

   A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. Butterflies comprise the true butterflies, the skippers and the moth-butterflies. All the many other families within the Lepidoptera are referred to as moths. The earliest known butterfly fossils date to the mid Eocene epoch, 40–50 million years ago. Butterflies exhibit polymorphism, mimicry and aposematism. Some, like the Monarch, will migrate over long distances. Some butterflies have evolved symbiotic and parasitic relationships with social insects such as ants. Some species are pests because in their larval stages they can damage domestic crops or trees; however, some species are agents of pollination of some plants, and caterpillars of a few butterflies eat harmful insects. Culturally, butterflies are a popular motif in the visual and literary arts.

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'butterfly' in Nouns Frequency: #2800

Anagrams for butterfly »

1. flutterby

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of butterfly in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of butterfly in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Sample Sentences & Example Usage

1. Josh Gad:

   Fly like a butterfly.

2. Muhammad Ali:

   Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

3. Matshona Dhliwayo:

   When a caterpillar looks in the mirror, he sees a butterfly.

4. Matshona Dhliwayo:

   The caterpillar's end is the butterfly's beginning.

5. Matshona Dhliwayo:

   One has to crawl like a caterpillar before flying like a butterfly.

Images & Illustrations of butterfly