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: 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
Examples of moth in a Sentence
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In truth, the yellow- and orange-flowered nasturtium — which is closely related to the Brassicas or cole crops, explaining why cabbage moths hover around it — has no botanical relationship to watercress but was given its name due to the similar taste of the different species’ leaves.
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Joshua Siskin, Orange County Register, 26 Apr. 2024
The spotted lanternfly enters the adult moth stage during the late summer and fall.
—Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 25 Apr. 2024
Her remains were surrounded by moth balls in the basement of the home, where she was buried in April 2023 after being viciously killed, Sanguedolce said at the press conference, which was streamed by PAhomepage.com and viewed by PEOPLE.
—Kc Baker, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024
Legions of insects have evolved to help native plants with long-distance reproduction, including butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, midges and gnats.
—Andrew Van Dam, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
High populations of these moths in a small area can eat the leaves off an entire tree, and ultimately kill it.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 25 Mar. 2024
Orbiting, stalling, inverting The study team compiled hundreds of slow-motion videos capturing the behaviors of butterflies, moths, bees, wasps, dragonflies and damselflies, and found that the critters were not attracted to faraway lights.
—Taylor Nicioli, CNN, 7 Feb. 2024
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
Joshua Siskin, Orange County Register, 26 Apr. 2024
The spotted lanternfly enters the adult moth stage during the late summer and fall.
—Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 25 Apr. 2024
Her remains were surrounded by moth balls in the basement of the home, where she was buried in April 2023 after being viciously killed, Sanguedolce said at the press conference, which was streamed by PAhomepage.com and viewed by PEOPLE.
—Kc Baker, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024
Legions of insects have evolved to help native plants with long-distance reproduction, including butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, midges and gnats.
—Andrew Van Dam, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
High populations of these moths in a small area can eat the leaves off an entire tree, and ultimately kill it.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 25 Mar. 2024
Orbiting, stalling, inverting The study team compiled hundreds of slow-motion videos capturing the behaviors of butterflies, moths, bees, wasps, dragonflies and damselflies, and found that the critters were not attracted to faraway lights.
—Taylor Nicioli, CNN, 7 Feb. 2024
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
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'moth.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Moth.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moth. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.
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