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

And in December 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed adding the beloved monarch butterfly to the endangered species list. —USA Today, 16 May 2025

While monarch butterflies this past winter doubled in Mexico over the previous year, the oystercatcher, a shorebird, has been recovering over a 15-year period because of focused efforts. —Troy Aidan Sambajon, Christian Science Monitor, 6 May 2025

The monarch butterfly is in a steep decline having lost about 90% of its population in North America since the 1990s. —Amy Chillag, CNN, 3 Dec. 2024

However, that said, there are not a huge number of butterflies in California this year, monarch butterflies specifically. —Ari Daniel, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for monarch butterfly

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

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