Definitions for butterfly
ˈbʌt ərˌflaɪbut·ter·f·ly

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

1. butterflynoun

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

2. butterfly, butterfly strokeverb

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

3. butterflyverb

   flutter like a butterfly

4. butterflyverb

   cut and spread open, as in preparation for cooking

   "butterflied shrimp"

5. chat up, flirt, dally, butterfly, coquet, coquette, romance, philander, mashverb

   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. butterflynoun

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

2. butterflynoun

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

3. butterflynoun

   The butterfly stroke.

4. butterflynoun

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

   butterfly tape

5. butterflyverb

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

6. butterflyverb

   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. Butterflynoun

   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.

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. butterfly

   A type of insect.

   Butterflies are so beautiful to watch as they dance together in pairs.

   Submitted by MaryC on April 15, 2020  

Matched Categories

1. • Cooking
   • Flit
   • Lepidopterous Insect
   • Spread
   • Talk

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

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

Anagrams for butterfly »

1. flutterby

How to pronounce butterfly?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say butterfly in sign language?

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

Examples of butterfly in a Sentence

1. Proverb:

   Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over it became a butterfly

2. Nathaniel Hawthorne:

   Happiness is a butterfly, which, when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.

3. Andre Gide:

   Know thyself? A maxim as pernicious as it is ugly. Whoever observes himself arrests his own development. A caterpillar who wanted to know itself well would never become a butterfly.

4. Unknown:

   A chinese philosopher once had a dream that he was a butterfly. From that day on, he was never quite certain that he was not a butterfly, dreaming that he was a man.

5. Josh Gad:

   Fly like a butterfly.

Images & Illustrations of butterfly

Popularity rank by frequency of use