beetle
noun · verb · adjective
Simple meaning
Insect having biting mouthparts and front wings modified to form horny covers overlying the membranous rear wings.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
beetuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈbitəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Insect having biting mouthparts and front wings modified to form horny covers overlying the membranous rear wings
“A shiny green beetle crawled slowly across the leaf.”
Any of numerous species of insect in the order Coleoptera characterized by a pair of hard, shell-like front wings which cover and protect a pair of rear wings when at rest.
uncountable
A game of chance in which players attempt to complete a drawing of a beetle, different dice rolls allowing them to add the various body parts.
A type of mallet with a large wooden head, used to drive wedges, beat pavements, etc.
A machine in which fabrics are subjected to a hammering process while passing over rollers, as in cotton mills; a beetling machine.
UKAustraliaNew Zealand
A small car, the Volkswagen Beetle (original version made 1938–2003, similar models made 1997–2010 and since 2011).
verb
To finish by subjecting to a hammering process in a beetle or beetling machine.
To beat with a heavy mallet.
To move (away) quickly, to scurry away.
Beat with a beetle
adjective
Protruding, jutting, overhanging.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Insect having biting mouthparts and front wings modified to form horny covers overlying the membranous rear wings
Used this way, beetle is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“A shiny green beetle crawled slowly across the leaf.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Leave suddenly and as if in a hurry.
Introduced into United States from the Orient.
Small beetle that bores tunnels in the bark and wood of trees.
Introduced into the United States from Mexico.
European beetle.
A carpet beetle that is solid black in color.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.