wingless

adjective

wing·​less ˈwiŋ-ləs How to pronounce wingless (audio)
: having no wings or very rudimentary wings
winglessness noun

Examples of wingless in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The females are wingless and covered in dense hair, often brightly colored in red, orange, or yellow. Tiffany Acosta, The Arizona Republic, 16 Aug. 2024 Smaller animals that are wingless and legless, like worms, frequently attach to passing larger animals like insects and birds to traverse large distances. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 26 June 2023 The wingless middle generation are the ones who conduct suicide campaigns against attacking predators. Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 17 June 2010 Locust eggs take just two weeks to hatch, and wingless baby locusts—referred to as nymphs or hoppers and as tiny as a pinky fingernail—cracked open their eggs on Kenyan soil during February and early March. Neha Wadekar, Quartz Africa, 10 Apr. 2020 Females, however, molt into wingless nymph-like adults. oregonlive, 22 Feb. 2020 Lice are tiny, wingless parasites that feast on minuscule amounts of blood for survival. Kaitlyn Pirie, Good Housekeeping, 16 Sep. 2019 A few weeks later, one pilot saw a red-ish, wingless cigar-shape object. Matt Blitz, Popular Mechanics, 24 Sep. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1582, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of wingless was in 1582

Dictionary Entries Near wingless

Cite this Entry

“Wingless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wingless. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

wingless

adjective
wing·​less ˈwiŋ-ləs How to pronounce wingless (audio)
: having no wings or wings that are not fully developed
wingless insects
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