: insects that are lepidopterans

Examples of lepidoptera in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
This watch sends butterflies around the dial as violets dance in an imaginary breeze for 12 seconds before returning those tiny lepidoptera to display the time on a retrograde scale. Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 12 Apr. 2024 While in the Eje Cafetero, check-out the lepidoptera at Jardin Botánico de Quindío, where some 50 species flit about a netted enclosure. Yellow butterflies flew around Gabriel García Márquez's grandparents' house in Aracataca, where he was born and lived as a child. Christopher Baker, Travel + Leisure, 7 Jan. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1773, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lepidoptera was circa 1773

Dictionary Entries Near lepidoptera

Cite this Entry

“Lepidoptera.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lepidoptera. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.

Kids Definition

lepidoptera

plural noun
: insects that are lepidopterans

Medical Definition

lepidoptera

noun plural
1
capitalized : a large order of insects comprising the butterflies, moths, and skippers that as adults have four broad or lanceolate wings usually covered with overlapping and often brightly colored scales and that as larvae are caterpillars
2
: insects of the order Lepidoptera
lepidopteran noun or adjective
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