What does "butterfly" mean?
A flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, distinguished from moths by their diurnal activity and generally brighter colouring.
Butterfly
/ˈbʌ.tə(ɹ).flaɪ/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, distinguished from moths by their diurnal activity and generally brighter colouring.
- Grammar: butterfly is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: butterfly stroke, backstroke, balneation, bathe.
- Useful contrasts: arctiid, backstroke, breaststroke.
- Usage evidence: A bat flying in the sky looks like a butterfly.
How to use "butterfly"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "butterfly" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "butterfly" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "butterfly" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "butterfly" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "butterfly" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "butterfly stroke" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "butterfly", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, distinguished from moths by their diurnal activity and generally brighter colouring.
"It is true. I am like a butterfly, and I shall only live a little while."
- 2 a swimming stroke in which the arms are thrown forward together out of the water while the feet kick up and down wordnet
- 3 A use of surgical tape, cut into thin strips and placed across an open wound to hold it closed. attributive
"butterfly tape; butterfly bandage; butterfly strips"
- 4 diurnal insect typically having a slender body with knobbed antennae and broad colorful wings wordnet
- 5 The butterfly stroke.
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 Any of several plane curves that look like a butterfly; see Butterfly curve (transcendental) and Butterfly curve (algebraic).
- 7 Ellipsis of butterflies in one’s stomach (“A sensation of excited anxiety felt in the stomach”). abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, in-plural
"I get terrible butterflies before an exam."
- 8 Someone seen as being unserious and (originally) dressed gaudily; someone flighty and unreliable. archaic
"He was affable; therefore he was frivolous. The women liked him; therefore he was a butterfly."
- 9 A combination of four options of the same type at three strike prices giving limited profit and limited risk.
- 10 A random change in an aspect of the timeline seemingly unrelated to the primary point of divergence, resulting from the butterfly effect.
"One potential butterfly could be JFK having another son the year after the POD instead of a daughter."
- 11 A type of stretch in which one sits on the ground with the legs folded into a shape like that of a butterfly's wings, slightly rocking them up and down, resembling the wings fluttering.
- 12 A person who changes partners frequently.
"What does it mean to be a butterfly in Pattaya? It means, just like a butterfly briefly visits many flowers, you will briefly visit many different girls."
- 13 A safety link or detaching hook above the cage attached to the winding rope to prevent the cage from being overwound.
- 14 party switcher; turncoat. Philippine, Philippines, derogatory, often
Verb
- 1 To cut (food) almost entirely in half and spread the halves apart, in a shape suggesting the wings of a butterfly. transitive
"butterflied shrimp"
- 2 talk or behave amorously, without serious intentions wordnet
- 3 To cut strips of surgical tape or plasters into thin strips, and place across (a gaping wound) to close it. transitive
"After everyone had obeyed his commands, the lieutenant motioned for two medics that now appeared to enter the room and attend to Dr. Carter. They bandaged him up, butterflying some of the deeper gashes and gave him a couple of shots."
- 4 cut and spread open, as in preparation for cooking wordnet
- 5 To cause events after the point of divergence to not happen as they did in real history, and people conceived after the point of divergence to not exist in recognizable form, due to the random variations introduced by the butterfly effect. transitive
"Pearl Harbor not happening would've butterflied Taylor Swift."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 flutter like a butterfly wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"A bat flying in the sky looks like a butterfly."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "butterfly"?
Common synonyms include: butterfly stroke, backstroke, balneation, bathe, bathing, butterflied.
How do you use "butterfly" in a sentence?
A bat flying in the sky looks like a butterfly.
How do you pronounce "butterfly"?
Pronounced /ˈbʌ.tə(ɹ).flaɪ/.
Etymology
From Middle English buterflie, butturflye, boterflye, from Old English buterflēoge, equivalent to butter + fly. Cognate with Dutch botervlieg, German Butterfliege (“butterfly”). The name may have originally been applied to butterflies of a yellowish color, or reflected a belief that butterflies ate milk and butter (compare German Molkendieb (“butterfly”, literally “whey-thief”) and Low German Botterlicker (“butterfly”, literally “butter-licker”)), or that they excreted a butter-like substance (compare Dutch boterschijte (“butterfly”, literally “butter-excretor”)). Compare also German Schmetterling from Schmetten (“cream”), German Low German Bottervögel (“butterfly”, literally “butter-fowl”). More at butter, fly. An alternate theory suggests that the first element may have originally been Old English butor- (“beater”), a mutation of bēatan (“to beat”), but this would not explain the cognates in other languages or the other names formed with milk products. Superseded non-native Middle English papilion (“butterfly”) borrowed from Old French papillon (“butterfly”).