but·ter·fly
ˈbə-tər-ˌflī 
often attributive
1
: any of numerous slender-bodied diurnal lepidopteran insects including one superfamily (Papilionoidea) with broad often brightly colored wings and usually another superfamily comprising the skippers
2
: something that resembles or suggests a butterfly
especially
: a person chiefly occupied with the pursuit of pleasure
3
: a swimming stroke executed in a prone position by moving both arms in a circular motion while kicking both legs up and down
4
butterflies plural
: a feeling of hollowness or queasiness caused especially by emotional or nervous tension or anxious anticipation
5
: a defensive move by a goalie in ice hockey executed by dropping to the knees while spreading the lower legs outward
butterflied; butterflying
: to split almost entirely and spread apart
a butterflied steak
butterflied shrimp
Synonyms
Examples of butterfly in a Sentence
Noun
They competed in the butterfly.
Verb
Butterfly the chicken before roasting.
Recent Examples on the Web
Angel Saunders, People.com, 7 Feb. 2025
Scott Black, a conservationist and executive director of the Xerces Society, is hopeful some butterflies, both monarchs and other species, may have escaped.
—Anton Sorokin, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Feb. 2025
CBS News, 4 Feb. 2025
Prep your shrimp by peeling, deveining, and butterflying each one.
—Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for butterfly 
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Noun
Decked out in blue wrapping and butterfly designs, the bottle made an appearance in the social media post.
—Angel Saunders, People.com, 7 Feb. 2025
Scott Black, a conservationist and executive director of the Xerces Society, is hopeful some butterflies, both monarchs and other species, may have escaped.
—Anton Sorokin, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Feb. 2025
Verb
Monarch butterflies from Canada stop to rest in Wendy Park on their way to Mexico, on Sept. 12, 2023, in Cleveland, Ohio.
—CBS News, 4 Feb. 2025
Prep your shrimp by peeling, deveining, and butterflying each one.
—Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for butterfly
Dictionary Entries Near butterfly
Cite this Entry
“Butterfly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/butterfly. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
butterfly
1 of 2 noun
but·ter·fly
-ˌflī
plural butterflies
1
plural
: a feeling of hollowness or queasiness caused especially by emotional or nervous tension or anxious anticipation
butterfly
2 of 2 adjective
: affecting the part of the face including the cheeks and the bridge of the nose
the typical butterfly lesion of lupus erythematosus
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