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butterfly

butterfly

160 1.0
A small insect with a thin body and bright wings that flies in daylight
  • noun
  • /ˈbʌtərˌflaɪ/
translation icon : mariposa
  • I've never seen so many butterflies in my garden ever.
  • butterfly wings
  • caterpillars and butterflies
  • butterflies flutter

Just come by with a butterfly net and scoop them up.

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Examples

  • I love sunshine, I love butterflies.

  • So it is our very own live butterfly garden.

  • We would hang out at Butterfly Beach all day, every day.

  • As we're talking now, people are watching the butterfly be born right now.

  • Grab that net and catch that beautiful butterfly, pal.

  • Sometimes she stops to watch a butterfly hover from flower to flower.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • They're butterflies from the Brazilian rain forest.

  • Students frequently chose either planets or butterflies to express their feelings about friendship and rivalry.

    Academic text (1990)
  • In the spring, the garden was filled with colorful butterflies fluttering from flower to flower.

  • She took a picture of a butterfly landing on the vibrant petals of a tulip.

Synonyms

skipper
vsbutterfly
2 6.8

A small fast butterfly with a thick body often found near flowers

is the day active insect with slender body and knobbed antennae
swallowtail
vsbutterfly
1 4.8

A large bright butterfly with long tails on its back wings

is the day active insect with slender body and knobbed antennae
nymphalid butterfly
vsbutterfly
  • Specialized
8.6

A medium to large butterfly with bright wings and very small front legs

is the day active insect with slender body and knobbed antennae
nymphalid
vsbutterfly
  • Specialized
9.9

A butterfly with bright wings and very small front legs often not used for walking

is the day active insect with slender body and knobbed antennae
lycaenid butterfly
vsbutterfly
  • Specialized
9.9

A small bright butterfly often with blue, shiny wings

is the day active insect with slender body and knobbed antennae
lycaenid
vsbutterfly
  • Specialized
9.9

A small butterfly with bright, often blue, wings

is the day active insect with slender body and knobbed antennae
genus Lycaena
vsbutterfly
  • Specialized
9.9

Small, thin butterflies that have bright blue, green, or copper upper wings

is the day active insect with slender body and knobbed antennae
milkweed butterfly
vsbutterfly
  • US
6.1

A large orange and black North American butterfly whose caterpillars eat milkweed

is the day active insect with slender body and knobbed antennae
emperor butterfly
vsbutterfly
  • UK
6.1

A large bright butterfly with blue or green wings found in Africa and parts of Europe and Asia

is the day active insect with slender body and knobbed antennae
Ornithoptera
vsbutterfly
  • Australian
9.9

A group of very large bright butterflies from New Guinea and nearby islands

is the day active insect with slender body and knobbed antennae
tortoiseshell butterfly
vsbutterfly
  • UK
6.7

A small bright butterfly with orange and black wings that often visits flowers

is the day active insect with slender body and knobbed antennae
cabbage butterfly
vsbutterfly
3.4

A small white butterfly whose caterpillars eat cabbage and other garden plants

is the day active insect with slender body and knobbed antennae
sulfur butterfly
vsbutterfly
  • US
6.7

A small flying insect with wide yellow or orange wings

is the day active insect with slender body and knobbed antennae
anglewing
vsbutterfly
  • Specialized
9.9

A butterfly with sharp notches on the outer edges of its front wings

is the day active insect with slender body and knobbed antennae
four-footed butterfly
vsbutterfly
9.8

A small insect with bright wings whose front legs are very small and folded so it walks on four legs

is the day active insect with slender body and knobbed antennae

Idioms

1 6.8

To move with light, graceful steps like a butterfly

9.9

An action much stronger than needed against something small and harmless

Compounds

A large orange and black butterfly that travels long distances and whose caterpillars eat milkweed

butterfly effect
  • Specialized
1 7.9

A small change that causes big, unexpected results far away

A shrub with groups of flowers that attract butterflies

A person who catches butterflies and moths to keep and study

A small colorful tropical sea fish with a flat body and wide fins, often near coral reefs

butterfly stroke
  • Specialized
1 3.9

A swimming stroke where both arms move forward together and the legs kick like a dolphin

butterfly valve
  • Specialized
1 6.0

A valve with a flat disc that turns to control or stop the flow of water and air

6.1

A metal piece with two flat wings you turn by hand to hold things together

butterfly ray
  • Specialized
8.1

A large flat sea animal with a very wide body and a short tail

A plant with bright orange flowers that attract butterflies

butterfly flower
  • Specialized
8.2

A small garden plant with thin divided leaves and bright flowers with different colours

A shrub or small tree with clusters of pink flowers streaked with purple

An orchid with colorful flowers that look like a butterfly

A climbing plant with bright blue or purple flowers that people use to make tea and decorate gardens

A flowering plant with colorful, often fragrant flowers that look like butterflies

A flower with bright petals that look like a butterfly

8.2

A medium to large butterfly with bright wings and small front legs not used for walking

A small white butterfly whose caterpillars eat cabbage and other garden plants

A butterfly with jagged wing edges and a white mark shaped like a comma under each hind wing

danaid butterfly
  • Specialized
9.9

A large tropical butterfly with short front legs and a bad taste that keeps predators away

A large bright butterfly with blue or green wings found in Africa and parts of Europe and Asia

A small insect with bright wings whose front legs are very small and folded so it walks on four legs

A small southern European orchid with pale green and white flowers that smell sweet

lycaenid butterfly
  • Specialized
9.9

A small bright butterfly often with blue, shiny wings

A large orange and black North American butterfly whose caterpillars eat milkweed

A large dark purple butterfly with yellow edges on its wings

A European orchid with large dark green flowers that have a faint smell

hairstreak butterfly
  • Specialized
8.4

A small butterfly with thin lines like hairs under its wings

nymphalid butterfly
  • Specialized
8.6

A medium to large butterfly with bright wings and very small front legs

A small brown butterfly with spots that look like eyes on its wings

A European butterfly with reddish-brown wings and purple eye-like spots

pierid butterfly
  • Specialized
8.4

A pale butterfly like the cabbage white that visits flowers

A small flying insect with wide yellow or orange wings

A small bright butterfly with orange and black wings that often visits flowers

A small white butterfly whose caterpillars eat cabbage and other garden plants

How Big

large white
  • UK
7.2
butterfly
160 1.0
papillon
8.6
skipper
2 6.8

Surface Forms

butterfly singular
butterflies plural

Morphology

butterfly = butter + fly (opaque) = butter + fly

Although graphically composed of 'butter' + 'fly', the insect name is not a literal or compositional meaning that learners can reliably derive from its parts.

Etymology

Butterfly comes from Old English words buttor and fleoge, which mean 'butter' and 'fly'. One idea says people called some yellow butterflies 'butter-fly' or thought they stole butter, and that picture helps explain the name of the colorful insect.