lepidoptera

plural noun

lep·​i·​dop·​tera ˌle-pə-ˈdäp-tə-rə 

: insects that are lepidopterans

Examples of lepidoptera in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This class of insects was dubbed lepidoptera, meaning scale wings, by Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1746. — Heller McAlpin, Christian Science Monitor, 19 Sep. 2026

Oak trees alone can support more than 540 species of lepidoptera. — Markis Hill, Kansas City Star, 13 May 2025

Many lepidoptera are picky eaters and will dine only on certain plants. — Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2025

This watch sends butterflies around the dial as violets dance in an imaginary breeze for 12 seconds before returning those tiny lepidoptera to display the time on a retrograde scale. — Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 12 Apr. 2024

While in the Eje Cafetero, check-out the lepidoptera at Jardin Botánico de Quindío, where some 50 species flit about a netted enclosure. Yellow butterflies flew around Gabriel García Márquez's grandparents' house in Aracataca, where he was born and lived as a child. — Christopher Baker, Travel + Leisure, 7 Jan. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1773, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for lepidoptera

• coleoptera
• heterodera
• heteroptera
• hymenoptera
• antisera
• cladocera
• cordillera
• hemiptera
• homoptera
• lonicera
• neuroptera
• oenothera

Kids Definition

lepidoptera

plural noun

lep·​i·​dop·​tera ˌlep-ə-ˈdäp-tə-rə 

: insects that are lepidopterans

Medical Definition

lepidoptera

noun plural

lep·​i·​dop·​tera ˌlep-ə-ˈdäp-tə-rə 

1

capitalized : a large order of insects comprising the butterflies, moths, and skippers that as adults have four broad or lanceolate wings usually covered with overlapping and often brightly colored scales and that as larvae are caterpillars

2

: insects of the order Lepidoptera

lepidopteran

-rən 

noun or adjective

lepidopterous

-tə-rəs 

adjective