Meaning & use
ladybug
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableAmerican
A small round beetle, often red or orange with black spots, that eats garden pests.
Grammar: Countable; plural is ladybugs. In British English the usual word is ladybird.
Patterns
- a ladybug on something
- a swarm of ladybugs
A ladybug landed on my hand and stayed there for a minute.
The garden is full of ladybugs this summer; they are eating the aphids.
She wore a red dress with black spots, like a ladybug.
Word forms
| plural | ladybugs |
|---|
Common combinations
- a ladybug lands on something
- A ladybug landed on the picnic table.
- a swarm of ladybugs
- A swarm of ladybugs covered the rose bush.
- release ladybugs
- Gardeners sometimes release ladybugs to control pests.
- ladybug spots
- The number of ladybug spots varies by species.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ladybird
- The usual British word for the same insect; use ladybug in American English.
- beetle
- A general word for this kind of insect; ladybug is more specific and names one type.
Word family
- ladybird noun
- British word for the same insect.
Commonly confused: ladybug or lady's bug?
ladybug vs lady's bug
Not a standard term; the correct word is ladybug (or ladybird in British English).
Practice
Which sentence uses the word correctly?
Choose one answer.
Ladybugs are small insects often found on plants, so 'crawled across the leaf' fits. The other options describe impossible or wrong behavior for a ladybug.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ladybug”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.