- [countable] a flying insect with a long thin body and four large, usually brightly coloured, wings
- butterflies and moths
- She's like a butterfly. She flits in and out of people's lives.
- The butterfly emerged from the pupa.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + butterfly- chase
- collect
- attract
- …
- flit
- flutter
- fly
- …
- wing
- [uncountable] a swimming stroke in which you swim on your front and lift both arms forward at the same time while your legs move up and down together
- She was third in the 200m butterfly (= a swimming race).
Word OriginOld English, from butter + the insect fly; perhaps from the cream or yellow colour of common species, or from an old belief that the insects stole butter.
Idioms
See butterfly in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionaryhave butterflies (in your stomach)
- (informal) to have a nervous feeling in your stomach before doing something
- I had butterflies in my stomach as I went to get my exam results.
Check pronunciation:
butterfly