Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Any of numerous small, rounded, usually brightly colored beetles of the family Coccinellidae, often reddish with black spots and feeding primarily on insect pests, such as scale insects and aphids. Also called lady beetle, ladybird.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A ladybird: the more common name in the United States and in some parts of England.
Wiktionary
- n. North America any beetle of the Coccinellidae family of beetles, typically having a round shape and a colorful shell.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Zoöl.) Same as ladybird.
WordNet 3.0
- n. small round bright-colored and spotted beetle that usually feeds on aphids and other insect pests
Etymologies
- From lady + bug, the “lady” here referring to Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. Compare German Marienkäfer. (Wiktionary)
- Probably from its seven spots being considered a symbol of the seven sorrows of the Virgin Mary. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“And there's the very useful little beetle we call the ladybug, which is not a bug, but a beetle.”
Little Busybodies The Life of Crickets, Ants, Bees, Beetles, and Other Busybodies
“A good clue to tracking down a ladybug is a sticky plant.”
The Washington Post: Lost Ladybug Project helps scientists understand insect's decline
“The ladybug is a great help to men who own fruit orchards in the West.”
Little Busybodies The Life of Crickets, Ants, Bees, Beetles, and Other Busybodies
“English and American children call ladybug or lady-bird (that is, the bug or bird of our Lady), the Germans Marienkäferchen, and the”
A Book of Operas Their Histories, Their Plots, and Their Music
“The ladybug is the first game you'll create in the extensive tutorial.”
“Okay, maybe they should be called ladybug eyes, but they are definitely huge and heart-melting.”
“My quest for shelter for all kinds of wildlife also means there's a good excuse for friends to give simple, but very welcome home-made birthday gifts such as the pictured ladybird (aka ladybug) and bee haven my friends S & L gave me last week.”
“After all, the ladybug could be the room's former occupant suffering from an unfortunate metamorphosis a la Gregor, which would explain how I ended up in Kilgo, a circumstance my non-abroad, Central-bound peers like to repeat in mild disbelief and medium-to-spicy jealousy”
“In this weird English language, greyhounds aren't always grey (or gray), a ladybug is a beetle, guinea pigs are neither pigs nor from Guinea, and a titmouse is neither mammal nor mammaried.”
“I have a "ladybug" problem here too...they come through my screen door in droves.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘ladybug’.
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Americanism
American words
finest, fast food, acclimate, aluminum, alphabetize, airplane, affirmative action, arugula, backhoe, bangs, base board, bayou and 162 more...
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beetles
beetles
anobiid, beetle, bookworm, borer, bruchid, buprestid, cadelle, canegrub, cantharid, cantharis, carabid, chafer and 117 more...
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Animals
pig, camel, ant, ape, donkey, badger, bat, beaver, bee, cat, dog, cow and 82 more...
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Animals (besides pottos)
.
robin, wagtail, frog, bunny, pronk, rabbit, fur, badger, mouse, bee, crepuscular, purr and 140 more...
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What's That Pokémon Name?
Words used to create the names of Pokémon, which are usually portmanteaux.
bulb, dinosaur, ivy, venus, char, salamander, squirt, turtle, blast, tortoise, water, caterpillar and 525 more...
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Two years
Okay, I admit it. I made a list of words my daughter knew when she was two years old.
bat, baba, a, abalone, about, acorn, adrienne, after, again, airplane, alison, all and 694 more...
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Words Covered in Faery Dust (L)
words that evoke magic, mystery, mayhem, magnificence or anything else that glimmers in the grass
labyrinth, lace, lad, lady fingers, lagoon, lamb, lament, lammas, lantern, larkspur, lass, lauds and 92 more...
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Hampsteader's list
Just some words i like . . .
bilkirkegaard, frost, flaxen, snow, quoin, quern, westering, deer, antler, solstice, autumn, autumnal and 114 more...
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words my 19-month-old daughter says
We'll skip people's names.
basketball, light, railroad, mommy, daddy, up, hand, gate, walk, kitty, doggie, cat and 145 more...
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Rocketeer's Words
defenestrate, shutterbug, antique, periscope, dogma, peculiar, eccentric, banana, apple, pear, cherry, photograph and 189 more...
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lilliput
ladybug, papermite, silverfish, mote, miniscule, micro, protozoa, fragment, ion, proton, neutrino, neutron and 18 more...
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dangleberry's Words
lush, dabble, babble, bauble, aubergine, dangle, tingle, tangle, zing, tomato, splosh, tinkle and 72 more...
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Types of Bugs
ladybug, jitterbug, litterbug, bugs bunny, stinkbug, doodlebug
Tweets
Looking for tweets for ladybug.
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