1 water strider | Definition of water strider

water strider

noun

Definition of water strider

: any of various long-legged bugs (family Gerridae) that move about on the surface of the water

Examples of water strider in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Khila and Santos ground up the developing legs of the Rhagovelia water striders and sequenced the transcriptome — the complete suite of genes active in those tissues. Quanta Magazine, "Insects Conquered a Watery Realm With Just Two New Genes," 19 Oct. 2017 Their secret asset is a special extendable structure on their middle leg resembling a Japanese fan, which no other water striders have. Quanta Magazine, "Insects Conquered a Watery Realm With Just Two New Genes," 19 Oct. 2017 Small, lightweight water striders, for instance, rely entirely on surface tension to stay afloat, while the larger, heavier basilisk lizards employ a slapping motion with their feet that creates pockets of air bubbles to keep from sinking. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Geckos’ new superpower is running on water; now we know how they do it," 6 Dec. 2018 Cool Creek Critters For ages 5-9, explore waterfalls and catch water striders. 10:30 a.m.-noon. Washington Post, "Alexandria-Arlington community calendar, Sept. 14-21, 2017," 13 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'water strider.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

See More

First Known Use of water strider

1888, in the meaning defined above

Keep scrolling for more

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for water strider

water strider

noun
water strid·​er | \ -ˈstrÄ«-dÉ™r\

Kids Definition of water strider

: a bug with long legs that skims over the surface of water

More from Merriam-Webster on water strider

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about water strider