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beetle

beetle

8 9.6
A heavy wooden hammer used to drive wedges or settle paving stones
  • noun
  • /ˈbiːtəl/
  • UK
translation icon : mazo
  • 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

sledgehammer
vsbeetle
35 3.9

A large heavy tool with a long handle used to break stone or drive stakes

is used for driving wedges and ramming paving stones
mallet
vsbeetle
10 4.2

A tool with a large wooden head used for hitting without damage

is used for heavy ramming crushing or beating that can damage materials

Compounds

3 4.4

A beetle that eats animal dung, rolls it into balls, and lays eggs in them

1 6.5

A small beetle that bores tunnels in tree bark and often kills the tree

A black and yellow beetle that eats potato plants

A black-and-yellow beetle that eats potato leaves when young and as an adult

A small insect whose young eat wool, fur and other animal materials

A dark, hard-bodied beetle whose young often eat dead plants or stored grain

flea beetle
  • Specialized
1 7.0

A small leaf beetle with strong back legs that jumps like a flea and chews small holes in leaves

long-horned beetle
  • Specialized
1 7.4

A beetle with very long antennae often longer than its body

A beetle that makes a liquid that can cause blisters on the skin

A small beetle that defends itself by shooting a hot, smelly spray and making a popping sound

1 7.6

A beetle that snaps its body to flip into the air and make a quick clicking sound

1 7.5

A small insect with black and yellow stripes that eats potato leaves and harms crops

1 6.2

A small insect that lives in flour and stored grains and spoils food

1 1.8

A small round beetle with bright spots that eats small insects that harm plants

1 2.6

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

1 6.1

A small green and brown insect that eats leaves and harms garden plants

1 6.9

A fast, brightly colored beetle that hunts other insects

stag beetle
  • Specialized
1 6.4

A large beetle whose male has big jaws that look like stag antlers

1 4.1

An insect with a smooth oval body and flat back legs for swimming

bean beetle
  • Specialized
7.4

A small beetle that eats bean leaves and damages crops

9.8

A beetle in Europe that lives in beehives, damages honeycombs and disturbs bees

A person or tool that kills small bugs like beetles

A small black insect that eats household fabrics and stored food

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

clerid beetle
  • Specialized
8.9

A brightly coloured, often shiny beetle that eats other insects

deathwatch beetle
  • Literature
9.9

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

Dutch-elm beetle
  • Specialized
8.6

An insect that spreads a fungus that kills elm trees

elaterid beetle
  • Specialized
9.7

A long beetle that makes a loud click to flip itself upright

A large beetle from eastern Asia that attacks and kills hardwood trees like maple or oak

Asiatic beetle
  • Specialized
8.5

A small beetle from Asia whose young eat the roots of grass and sugarcane

8.4

A small tropical beetle with bright glowing spots at night

lamellicorn beetle
  • Specialized
9.9

A beetle with feelers that end in hard flat plates

A small brightly colored beetle that eats plant leaves and whose young damage roots and stems

longicorn beetle
  • Specialized
9.9

A beetle with a long body and very long antennae that often makes holes in wood

7.2

A large beetle that appears in late spring whose larvae eat plant roots and can damage lawns

melolonthid beetle
  • Specialized
9.9

A brown beetle like a May bug that often damages plants

A small insect that eats the leaves of bean plants and often damages bean crops

A large shiny green beetle often seen on ripening fruit in early summer

5.4

A large brown beetle that appears in late spring and whose larvae eat grass roots

A large tropical beetle with a horn on its head

6.5

A small shiny green beetle whose young eat roots and adults eat leaves and flowers

rove beetle
  • Specialized
8.7

A small active beetle with very short wing covers that eats pests

A beetle that releases an oily liquid from its leg joints to stop animals from eating it

Oriental beetle
  • Specialized
8.1

A beetle from Asia whose young eat the roots of grasses like sugarcane

powder-post beetle
  • Specialized
9.4

A small insect whose young eat wood and leave fine dust

scarabaeid beetle
  • Specialized
9.9

A thick beetle with a rounded body and often horns on its head

8.8

A large beetle whose young make holes in dead or dying pine trees

A large shiny blue-green beetle from North America that eats caterpillars

A small insect that eats the seeds of plants like beans or peas

A small beetle that jumps into the air with a click to flip itself upright when on its back

A small beetle with a long nose that often damages crops like grain and nuts

spruce bark beetle
  • Specialized
8.0

A small insect that makes holes in the bark of spruce trees and often kills them

whirligig beetle
  • Specialized
9.8

A small beetle that swims quickly in circles on the water

Surface Forms

beetle singular
beetles plural

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.