Meaning & use
butterfly
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
An insect with two pairs of large, often brightly colored wings, that flies during the day.
Grammar: Countable: one butterfly, two butterflies.
Patterns
- a butterfly lands on something
- chase butterflies
A colorful butterfly landed on the flower.
The garden was full of butterflies in summer.
noununcountablesport
A swimming stroke in which both arms move forward together while the legs do a dolphin kick.
Grammar: Uncountable when referring to the stroke: swim butterfly.
Patterns
- swim (the) butterfly
- the butterfly stroke
She won the 100-meter butterfly at the competition.
He is practicing the butterfly for his next swim meet.
Word forms
| plural | butterflies |
|---|
Common combinations
- butterfly stroke
- The butterfly stroke requires strong shoulder muscles.
- butterflies in your stomach
- I always get butterflies in my stomach before a test.
- a butterfly net
- The child ran after the butterfly with a net.
- butterfly effect
- The butterfly effect suggests small actions can have large consequences.
Synonyms and how they differ
- moth
- A moth is similar but usually flies at night and has duller colors.
Word family
- butterfly verb
- To cut and spread food open like a butterfly, as in butterflied shrimp.
Commonly confused: butterfly or flutter?
butterfly vs flutter
Flutter is a verb or noun meaning to move with quick, light wing movements; a butterfly flutters, but it is not called a flutter.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'butterfly' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Butterfly' is a swimming stroke, so option An is correct. Option B is wrong because butterflies do not live in the ocean. Option C confuses it with a dog. Option D uses it as a verb incorrectly.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “butterfly”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.