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insect

noun

Simple meaning

An arthropod having six legs, up to four wings, and a chitinous exoskeleton.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

insekt

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɪnsɛkt

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. An arthropod (in the Insecta class) characterized by six legs, up to four wings, and a chitinous exoskeleton.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
General and technical use

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: An arthropod (in the Insecta class) characterized by six legs, up to four wings, and a chitinous exoskeleton.

Used this way, insect is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately 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.

More ways to use insect

  • “A tiny insect landed on the window screen, buzzing softly.”

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

insect repellentinsect lifeinsect controlinsect speciesinsect pestinsect damageperfect insectsome insect

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • insect powdernounCompound term

    A chemical used to kill insects.

  • insect repellentnounCompound term

    A chemical substance that repels insects.

  • insect bitenounCompound term

    A painful wound caused by the thrust of an insect's stinger into skin.

  • insect repellantnounCompound term

    A chemical substance that repels insects.

  • homopterous insectnounCompound term

    Insects having membranous forewings and hind wings.

  • hymenopterous insectnounCompound term

    Insects having two pairs of membranous wings and an ovipositor specialized for stinging or piercing.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • insecticidenounRelated term

    A chemical used to kill insects.

  • insectanounRelated term

    Insects.

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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.