beetle
- noun
- /ˈbiːtəl/
- UK
- His fellow Beetles would never rest until they captured Eduard.
Examples
-
A pink stretch-beetle pulls in through the castle gates carrying wedding guests.
Fiction book (1998) -
The insect beetles or the car Beetles?
-
- What? - The yellow Beetle, I want it.
-
Hey, where did you get that Beetle?
-
But there she was in the street, standing next to a big shiny yellow beetle.
Fiction book (2001) -
The competition was a 1963 Volkswagen Beetle.
-
I want the Beetle.
-
Anything could get in under the house; it must be filled with spiderwebs and beetles and who knows what other disgusting creatures, right there where all the water pipes and wiring and heating ducts were.
Fiction book (1992) -
THERE'S THAT DENTED BEETLE!
-
He used the beetle to drive the wooden wedge into the log.
Synonyms
A large heavy tool with a long handle used to break stone or drive stakes
A tool with a large wooden head used for hitting without damage
Compounds
A black-and-yellow beetle that eats potato leaves when young and as an adult
- Specialized
A small leaf beetle with strong back legs that jumps like a flea and chews small holes in leaves
A small beetle that defends itself by shooting a hot, smelly spray and making a popping sound
A beetle that snaps its body to flip into the air and make a quick clicking sound
A small insect with black and yellow stripes that eats potato leaves and harms crops
- US
A small round beetle with bright spots that eats small insects that harm plants
A small round beetle often red with black spots that eats insects like aphids
A shiny black or metallic beetle that lives on the ground and eats harmful insects
A small beetle with black, red and white marks that eats carpets and other fabric
A ground beetle usually black or shiny that eats other insects and helps control pests
- Literature
A small insect that makes holes in wood and a faint ticking sound people once believed warned of death
A slow hard-bodied black beetle that lives on the ground whose young eat rotting plants or stored grain
A large beetle from eastern Asia that attacks and kills hardwood trees like maple or oak
- Specialized
A small beetle from Asia whose young eat the roots of grass and sugarcane
A small brightly colored beetle that eats plant leaves and whose young damage roots and stems
- Specialized
A beetle with a long body and very long antennae that often makes holes in wood
- UK
A large beetle that appears in late spring whose larvae eat plant roots and can damage lawns
A small insect that eats the leaves of bean plants and often damages bean crops
- US
A large brown beetle that appears in late spring and whose larvae eat grass roots
- UK
A small shiny green beetle whose young eat roots and adults eat leaves and flowers
A beetle that releases an oily liquid from its leg joints to stop animals from eating it
- Specialized
A beetle from Asia whose young eat the roots of grasses like sugarcane
A small beetle that jumps into the air with a click to flip itself upright when on its back
- Specialized
A small insect that makes holes in the bark of spruce trees and often kills them
Surface Forms
Etymology
The tool beetle comes from a word meaning 'to beat', the same idea as beat, so imagine a large wooden mallet used to 'beat' or drive wedges to remember this heavy tool.