Lacewing

//ˈleɪs.wɪŋ// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Any of a number of gauzy-winged insects of certain families within the order Neuroptera.

    "We recently proposed a new genus of Thorny Lacewing (Insecta, Neuroptera, Rhachiberothidae) from the Eocene amber of France."

  2. 2
    any of two families of insects with gauzy wings (Chrysopidae and Hemerobiidae); larvae feed on insect pests such as aphids wordnet
  3. 3
    Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Cethosia (order Lepidoptera).

Synonyms

All synonyms
lacewing flygreen lacewinginsectlacewing flyneuropteranneuropteran

Example

More examples

"We recently proposed a new genus of Thorny Lacewing (Insecta, Neuroptera, Rhachiberothidae) from the Eocene amber of France."

Etymology

From lace + wing. Possibly a calque of translingual Neuroptera.

Related phrases

beaded lacewingbrown lacewingcommon green lacewingdusty lacewinggiant lacewinggreen lacewingmoth lacewingpleasing lacewingsilky lacewingsplit-footed lacewingspoon-winged lacewingthorny lacewing

More for "lacewing"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.