How do you use the word "butterfly" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "butterfly": Oh, there's a butterfly! A bat flying in the sky looks like a butterfly.

Butterfly Meaning

/ˈbʌ.tə(ɹ).flaɪ/

Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

nounA flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, distinguished from moths by their diurnal activity and generally brighter colouring.

nounA use of surgical tape, cut into thin strips and placed across an open wound to hold it closed.

Sentence Examples

Oh, there's a butterfly!

A bat flying in the sky looks like a butterfly.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

mash romance

Antonyms:

None

CEFR Practice Quiz

The child watched a beautiful orange and black ____ land on the flower.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

A beautiful ____ with blue wings landed on the flower in garden.

Word Origin & History

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws Proto-Hellenic *gʷous Ancient Greek βοῦς (boûs) Proto-Indo-European *tewh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-rós Proto-Indo-European *tuh₂rós Proto-Hellenic *tūrós Ancient Greek τυρός (turós) Ancient Greek βούτῡρον (boútūron)bor. Latin būtȳrumbor. Proto-West Germanic *buterā Old English butere Proto-Indo-European *plew- Proto-Indo-European *plewk- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *pléwketi Proto-Germanic *fleuganą Proto-Germanic *fleugǭ Proto-West Germanic *fleugā Old English flēoge Old English buterflēoge Middle English boterflye English butterfly From Middle English buterflie, butturflye, boterflye, from Old English buterflēoge, equivalent to butter + fly. Cognate with Dutch botervlieg, German Butterfliege (“butterfly”). The name may have originally been applied to butterflies of a yellowish color, or reflected a belief that butterflies ate milk and butter (compare German Molkendieb (“butterfly”, literally “whey-thief”) and Low German Botterlicker (“butterfly”, literally “butter-licker”)), or that they excreted a butter-like substance (compare Dutch boterschijte (“butterfly”, literally “butter-excretor”)). Compare also German Schmetterling from Schmetten (“cream”), German Low German Bottervögel (“butterfly”, literally “butter-fowl”). More at butter, fly. An alternate theory suggests that the first element may have originally been Old English butor- (“beater”), a mutation of bēatan (“to beat”), but this would not explain the cognates in other languages or the other names formed with milk products. Superseded non-native Middle English papilion (“butterfly”) borrowed from Old French papillon (“butterfly”).

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"It is true. I am like a butterfly, and I shall only live a little while." — a. 1931 (date written), D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “[Personalia and Fragments.] [Autobiographical Fragment].”, in Edward D[avid] McDonald, editor, Phoenix: The Posthumous Papers of D. H. Lawrence, London: William Heinemann, published 1936, →OCLC, page 836:

"Dr Andre Gilburn, of the University of Stirling, who led the butterfly study, said: “Our study not only identifies a worrying link between the use of neonicotinoids and declines in butterflies but also suggests that the strength of their impact on many species could be huge.”" — 2015 November 24, Patrick Barkham, “Pesticide may be reason butterfly numbers are falling in UK, says study”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 05 Mar 2016:

"He was affable; therefore he was frivolous. The women liked him; therefore he was a butterfly." — 1859, George Meredith, chapter 15, in The Ordeal of Richard Feverel. A History of Father and Son. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC:

"The day came indeed when her breathless auditors learnt from her in bewilderment that what ailed him was that he was, alas, simply not serious. Maisie wept on Mrs. Wix's bosom after hearing that Sir Claude was a butterfly[…]." — 1897, Henry James, What Maisie Knew:

"What does it mean to be a butterfly in Pattaya? It means, just like a butterfly briefly visits many flowers, you will briefly visit many different girls." — 2022 December 9, Darren C, “Paying For Bar Girls, Sex in Pattaya”, in Pattaya Unlimited:

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