moth

noun

ˈmȯth 

plural moths ˈmȯt͟hz  ˈmȯths 

1

: clothes moth

2

: any of various usually nocturnal lepidopteran insects with antennae that are often feathery, with a stouter body, duller coloring, and proportionately smaller wings than the butterflies, and with larvae that are plant-eating caterpillars

mothlike

ˈmȯth-ˌlīk 

adjective

mothy

ˈmȯ-thē 

adjective

Examples of moth in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Singer played Ariel Moore, the daughter of local preacher John Lithgow's Reverend Shaw Moore, drawn to McCormack like a moth to a flame. —Simon Thompson, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024

The ancestor of butterflies was a nocturnal moth that became day-flying here, 101.4 million years ago. —Richard Grant, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Feb. 2024

But there was always an Unspeakable, an Ineffable, a Transcendent around which his soul circled like a moth round a candle. —John Byron Kuhner, National Review, 3 Feb. 2024

Ceanothus blooms bring on the bees, canopies host essential moths and butterflies, and birds find comfort in its cover. —Kristin Guy, Sunset Magazine, 25 Jan. 2024

These used to be called gypsy moths and are one of North America’s most harmful forest pests, according to the Indiana DNR. —Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 25 Mar. 2024

In the presence of nitrate radicals, significantly fewer moths visit primrose flowers. —Popular Science, 8 Feb. 2024

Long before Mansi delivers a lecture on the specifics of her studies and their overlap with global climate change, the moths feel monumentally important, and deeply connected to us. —Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 15 Mar. 2024

The new paper notes that grain moths can be a host species for Habrobracon hebetor, a parasitoid wasp that lays its eggs in the moth’s larvae. —Popular Science, 15 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English mothe, from Old English moththe; akin to Middle High German motte moth

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing moth

• death's-head hawk moth
• codling moth
• sphinx moth
• brown-tail moth
• hawk moth
• clothes moth
• wax moth
• luna moth
• Io moth
• Mediterranean flour moth
• peppered moth
• diamondback moth
• cecropia moth
• spongy moth
• cinnabar moth
• imperial moth
• oriental fruit moth
• clearwing moth
• moth bean
• silk moth
• moth-eaten
• tussock moth
• tiger moth

Kids Definition

moth

noun

ˈmȯth 

plural moths ˈmȯt͟hz  ˈmȯths 

: any of a group of night-flying insects that are lepidopterans often with duller coloring, stouter bodies, and smaller wings than the related butterflies and with antennae which are often feathery