Meaning & use
a moth
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“a moth” is a form of “moth”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
nouncountable
An insect with soft wings that is active mostly at night and is attracted to light.
Grammar: Use "a moth" for one insect and "moths" for more than one: a moth flew in.
Patterns
- a moth flies
- a moth lands on something
- a moth is attracted to light
A moth flew into the room and circled the lamp.
She caught a moth in a glass and let it out of the window.
A large moth was resting on the curtain this morning.
Word forms
| plural | moths |
|---|
Common combinations
- a moth flies
- A moth flew past my ear in the dark.
- be attracted to light
- Like most moths, it was attracted to light.
- a clothes moth
- Clothes moths had made holes in his wool sweater.
- a moth-eaten coat
- He wore an old moth-eaten coat to the market.
Synonyms and how they differ
- butterfly
- A butterfly is also a winged insect, but it usually flies by day and has bright, upright wings; a moth is mostly active at night and rests with its wings flat.
Word family
- mothball noun
- A small ball with a strong smell, put with clothes to keep moths away.
- moth-eaten adjective
- Full of holes made by moth larvae.
Commonly confused: a moth or moth? a moth or mote?
a moth vs moth
The headword here is only the phrase "a moth"; the dictionary entry you need is the noun "moth" itself.
a moth vs mote
"Mote" is a tiny piece of dust; it sounds like "moth" but has nothing to do with insects.
Practice
Which sentence uses "a moth" correctly?
Choose one answer.
"A moth" is singular and takes a singular verb, so "A moth flew..." is correct. "A moth were" and "A moth are" are wrong because the verb must be singular, and "a moths" is wrong because "a" cannot go with a plural noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a moth”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.