butterfly
Pluralbutterflies
Verbbutterflies, butterflying, butterflied
Pluralbutterflies
Formsbutterflies, butterflying, butterflied
- 1A flying insect with large, often brightly colored wings that flies in the daytime.
Like a moth, but it flies in the daytime and has brighter colors.
A bright orange butterfly landed on the flower.
The garden was full of butterflies all summer.
Note
- 2Short for butterflies in one’s stomach. Used in the plural: a nervous, fluttery feeling before something exciting or scary.
She had butterflies before her big speech.
I always get butterflies on the first day of school.
UsageSay I have butterflies before a test.
Note
- 3A swimming stroke where both arms move forward together over the water while the legs kick at the same time.
Like flapping both arms forward together, the way a bird beats its wings.
She swims the butterfly faster than anyone on her team.
Learning the butterfly takes a lot of practice.
UsageSay swim the butterfly.
Note
- 4To cut meat or fish almost all the way through and open it out flat like a book.
Like opening a book so both pages lie flat.
Butterfly the chicken breast so it cooks evenly.
He likes to butterfly the shrimp before grilling them.
UsageRecipes say butterflied chicken.
Similarsplit, spatchcock
Note
- 5A person who is not serious and keeps moving from one interest, group of friends, or lover to another.
Like a colorful insect that moves from flower to flower and never settles.
That young butterfly spends all his money on fine clothes.
He was affable; therefore he was frivolous. The women liked him; therefore he was a butterfly.
1859, George Meredith, The Ordeal of Richard FeverelHere, butterfly means a person who is not serious and moves from one lover to another.Note
Less common meanings
- 6In ice hockey, a way the goalie blocks shots by dropping to both knees with the leg pads spread out.
The goalie dropped into the butterfly and stopped the shot with his pads.
Our coach is teaching the young goalies the butterfly this winter.
Note
- 7A sitting stretch where you press the soles of your feet together and move your knees up and down.
Your legs look like a butterfly opening and closing its wings.
We sat on the mat, pressed our feet together, and did the butterfly.
I stretch with the butterfly to loosen my hips.
Note
- 8A thin strip of surgical tape placed across a cut to hold its edges together.
Like a small bandage that pulls the two sides of a cut together.
The nurse put a butterfly over the cut on his arm.
A small butterfly held the wound closed until it healed.
Note
- 9To close a wound by placing thin strips of surgical tape across it.
Like using sticky strips to pull a torn piece of cloth back together.
The medic will butterfly the cut to stop it from opening.
You can butterfly a small wound until you reach a doctor.
Similartape
Note
- 10A set of four option trades arranged so that the most you can win or lose is fixed from the start.
- 11A small, surprising change in an alternate timeline that comes from the main change but seems unrelated to it.
- 12To wipe out later events or people in an alternate timeline because of small random changes after the turning point.
- 13A politician who keeps switching from one party to another for personal gain.
- 14A curve drawn from a math formula that has a shape like a butterfly.
- 15A safety hook above a mine cage that stops it from being pulled up too far.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
From Old English buterflēoge, made from the words butter and fly.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact
- Butterfly descends from Old English buterflēoge, a compound of butter and fly. en.wiktionary.org