painted lady
noun
plural painted ladies
1
: a migratory nymphalid butterfly (Vanessa cardui) with wings mottled in brown, orange, black, and white
2
informal
: a woman who engages in sex acts and especially sexual intercourse in exchange for pay : a woman who is a sex worker
Examples of painted lady in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The pollen record even suggested a reason why painted ladies suddenly became so abundant in 2019.
—
Saugat Bolakhe, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Nov. 2024
Orange clouds of painted lady butterflies swarm there on their way to Northern Europe, and herds of wild horses roam among the oil installations.
—Stanley Reed, New York Times, 30 Aug. 2019
The butterflies in question were painted ladies, which are sometimes mistaken for monarch butterflies.
—Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 6 Oct. 2017
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Saugat Bolakhe, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Nov. 2024
Orange clouds of painted lady butterflies swarm there on their way to Northern Europe, and herds of wild horses roam among the oil installations.
—Stanley Reed, New York Times, 30 Aug. 2019
The butterflies in question were painted ladies, which are sometimes mistaken for monarch butterflies.
—Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 6 Oct. 2017
Dictionary Entries Near painted lady
Cite this Entry
“Painted lady.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/painted%20lady. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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