monarch butterfly

noun

: a large migratory American butterfly (Danaus plexippus) that has orange-brown wings with black veins and borders and a larva that feeds on milkweed

Illustration of monarch butterfly

Examples of monarch butterfly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The latter features monarch butterfly art made by Chicago-area youth, including students in schools in Naperville, Plainfield and Chicago and even from a juvenile detention center in Cook County. — Carolyn Stein, Chicago Tribune, 29 Oct. 2026

However, in the last 20 years, the western monarch butterfly population has experienced a steep decline. — Anne Ewbank, Sacbee.com, 24 Oct. 2026

Monarch migration Oyamel fir forests are famous as the winter refuge of millions of migratory monarch butterflies. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Oct. 2026

Hunting is not the primary threat today to the Florida panther, the North Atlantic right whale or the monarch butterfly. — Timothy Randhir, The Conversation, 1 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for monarch butterfly

• canaliculi
• dwi
• micronuclei
• oversimplify
• abscissae
• adonai
• alibi
• alkali
• alumni
• amoebae
• amplify
• annuli

Kids Definition

monarch butterfly

noun

: a large orange and black American butterfly that migrates in large numbers in the spring and fall and whose larva feeds on milkweed