ground beetle

noun

Definition of ground beetle

: any of a large cosmopolitan family (Carabidae) of soil-inhabiting usually carnivorous often shiny black or metallic beetles commonly having fused elytra

Recent Examples of ground beetle from the Web

Tick off the number and species of each organism observed, such as centipedes, ground beetles, and spiders.

— julie monahan, Good Housekeeping, "10 Easy Soil Tests," 9 Sep. 2015
This one was found in a cave in Guangxi province, and southern China is home to many caves and ground beetles.

— ashley strickland, CNN, "Meet the top 10 new species of 2018," 23 May 2018
Location: China Du’an Karst, a system of limestone caves in China’s Guangxi province, is a veritable kingdom of cave-dwelling ground beetles.

— sean greene, latimes.com, "A rare great ape, a 130-foot-tall tree and an extinct marsupial lion make the Top 10 New Species list for 2018," 23 May 2018
But still, the wide-ranging study shows a surprising amount of life thriving in the cemetery, finding 604 species of plants and animals, including five species of bat, 39 species of ground beetle, 44 species of birds, and 64 species of spider.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Graveyards Are Better for Animals Than Parks," 13 July 2016
Earthworms, ground beetles and other organisms will move it down into the soil and around the plant roots where it is needed.

— melinda myers, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Give perennial gardens a boost in two easy steps," 11 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ground beetle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.