dragonfly
noun
drag·on·fly
| \ ˈdra-gən-ˌflī
\
\
Definition of dragonfly
: any of a suborder (Anisoptera) of odonate insects that are larger and stouter than damselflies, hold the wings horizontal in repose, and have rectal gills during the naiad stage
broadly
: odonate
Illustration of dragonfly
Examples of dragonfly in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Anna Barnett said the dragonflies darted and circled all afternoon at the Mohican Hills Golf Club in Jeromesville, Ohio. — David Williams, CNN, "Weather radar picks up swarming dragonflies in 3 states," 12 Sep. 2019 Crawfish, which resemble miniature freshwater lobsters, can muddy streams and lakes and kill off the dragonfly nymphs that consume mosquito larvae. — Vanessa Hua, SFChronicle.com, "Tastes like trout?," 4 Sep. 2019 The end of our bees, butterflies, ants and dragonflies could spell a devastating extinction crisis. — Bruce Beehler, The Denver Post, "Guest Commentary: Why doom and gloom won’t help us fight climate change," 23 Aug. 2019 Wild bees, dragonflies and glow-worms (and the birds which feed on them), threatened by intensive agriculture in western Europe, still thrive here. — The Economist, "An ancient beast returns to Transylvania," 22 Aug. 2019 The program also covers dragonflies and three special concern species — the cobra clubtail, umber shadowdragon, and stygian — are being delisted. — Michael P. Norton, BostonGlobe.com, "Bald eagle recovering, two bee species marked as endangered in Mass.," 16 Aug. 2019 Butterflies and dragonflies can often be seen fluttering by tubers. — Patrick Connolly, orlandosentinel.com, "Ichetucknee Springs provides visitors a 3-hour natural lazy river tube run," 13 Aug. 2019 Typically, echolocation can’t detect a motionless dragonfly perched on a leaf. — Michael Waters, Smithsonian, "Bats Use Leaves as Mirrors to Locate and Catch Their Prey," 1 Aug. 2019 Classes will raise the devil crayfish, which creates burrows used by the dragonflies. — Nara Schoenberg, chicagotribune.com, "‘A face only its mother could love’: Ugly, cranky, endangered alligator snapping turtles get boost from Illinois students, who raise and release them into the wild," 27 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dragonfly.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for dragonfly
dragonfly
noun
English Language Learners Definition of dragonfly
: a large insect that has a long thin body and four wings and that is often seen near water
See the full definition for dragonfly in the English Language Learners Dictionary
dragonfly
noun
drag·on·fly
| \ ˈdra-gən-ˌflī
\
\
plural dragonflies
Kids Definition of dragonfly
: a large insect with a long slender body and four wings
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