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to beetle

to beetle

1 9.8
To hang over something in a way that looks threatening
  • verb
  • /ˈbiːtəl/
translation icon : sobresalir sobre
  • What if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord... or to the dreadful summit of the cliff that beetles over his base into the sea... and there assume some other horrible form... which might deprive your sovereignty of reason and draw you into madness?

Examples

  • The roof of the old house beetled over the porch, providing shelter from the rain.

  • He looked up from beneath a brow that beetled out over his tiny eyes.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • She spun around, brows beetled.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Frank's eyebrows beetled into a ferocious frown.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • The cliff beetles over the water, creating a dramatic view.

  • As she walked by, the large rock beetled out from the hillside, making it look unstable.

Synonyms

to overhang
vsto beetle
7 3.6

To stick out over the edge of something

is often seen as threatening or unusually noticeable

Antonyms

29 4.8

To move back or become less strong

Phrasal Verbs

9.8

To leave quickly and quietly without being noticed

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

How Prominent

to jut
19 4.8
to beetle
1 9.8
to overhang
7 3.6
to protrude
31 5.8
to project
23 4.3

Surface Forms

beetle infinitive
beetled past
beetled past participle
beetling present participle
beetles third person singular

Etymology

The verb beetle meaning 'to project or hang over' is a helpful image: think of a beetle's shell that 'hangs over' its body, so you can remember cliffs or trees that 'stick out' above the road.