moth

CEFRB1

/mˈɔθ/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A flying insect whose larvae often eat clothes or food.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    Anything that gradually and silently eats, consumes, or wastes any other thing.

Examples

  • Is it a butterfly or a moth?

  • She was attracted to him like a moth to a flame.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
4
Synonyms
3

Also pronounced

  • /məʊt/
  • /moʊt/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. To hunt for moths.

  2. Any flying insect of the order Lepidoptera not in the superfamily Papilionoidea, most species of which are nocturnal and can be distinguished from butterflies by feather-like antennae.

  3. A moth bean plant (Vigna aconitifolia).

More examples

In context

  • This species of moth has evolved an ingenious camouflage for blending into its surroundings.

  • To remove moth patches, wash the spots with a solution of common bicarbonate of soda and water several times a day, until the patches are removed, which will usually be in forty-eight hours.

  • So that, dear lords, if I be left behind, / A moth of peace, and he go to the war, / The rites for which I love him are bereft me, / And I a heavy interim shall support / By his dear absence. Let me go with him.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The wool sweater had small holes chewed by a blank in the closet.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English moth, moththe, motthe, moght, mohþe, mouȝte, from Old English moþþe, mohþe, mohþa (“any destructive insect larva”), from Proto-West Germanic *moþþō, *mottō, from Proto-Germanic *muþþô, *muttô (“moth, worm”), from Proto-Indo-European *mutn-, *mut- (“worm”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Motte (“moth”), West Frisian mot (“moth”), Dutch mot (“moth”), German Low German Motte, Mott (“moth”), German Motte (“moth”), Swedish mott (“moth”) and Norwegian Nynorsk mott (“moth”).