# butterflies

Pronunciation: US say "BUT-ur-flyz" /ˈbʌ.ɾɚ.flaɪz/; UK say "BUT-uh-flyz" /ˈbʌ.tə.flaɪz/

## Noun

1. Plural of butterfly. — plural of butterfly
   - Simple: Plural of butterfly. Use this form when you mean more than one.
   - _Several butterflies drifted between the flowers in the warm afternoon._
   - _Dozens of butterflies settled on the blooming lavender._
2. Ellipsis of butterflies in one's stomach. — Ellipsis of butterflies in one's stomach.
   - Simple: Short for butterflies in one's stomach. A nervous, fluttery feeling before something big.
   - _He got butterflies whenever she walked into the room._
   - _The actors all had butterflies in the minutes before the curtain rose._

## Verb

3. Third-person singular simple present indicative of butterfly. — third-person singular simple present indicative of butterfly
   - Simple: Third-person singular present of butterfly. Use it with he, she, or it.
   - _She butterflies the pork loin and stuffs it with fresh herbs._
   - _When a cut gapes too wide for a bandage, the camp medic butterflies it closed with two strips of tape._

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/butterflies (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).