insect
/ˈɪnsekt/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈɪnsekt/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈin-ˌsekt/ (ame, mw)
insect — noun
- insectsingular
- insectsplural
1. a tiny creature whose body naturally separates into three sections and that alwa
a tiny creature whose body naturally separates into three sections and that always has exactly six legs — flies, bees, ants, and butterflies all belong to this group.
Noor found a strange insect with shiny green wings on her balcony this morning.
This insect can fly over fifty kilometres in a single day to find food.
collocation: insect + fly / insect + find food
Before a storm arrived, Mauricio watched insects crawl out of the soil in his garden.
Arjun watched a tiny insect carry a crumb across the pavement toward its nest.
The insect crawled slowly up the wall and hid behind a picture frame.
- bug
informal term used for any small creature in everyday speech, but scientifically only refers to a subset (Hemiptera)
- creepy-crawly
very informal, British English; suggests fear or disgust
用法筆記
In everyday speech, people often call any small crawling or flying creature an insect, but strictly speaking spiders, centipedes, and worms are not insects.
常見錯誤
2. an insulting way to describe someone you think is weak, dishonest, or worthless
an insulting way to describe someone you think is weak, dishonest, or worthless — a person who deserves no respect.
The old man called the thief a disgusting insect as the police led him away.
collocation: disgusting insect (as an insult)
Constanza felt like a helpless insect trapped under her manager's angry gaze.
In the film, the villain treats everyone around him as if they were worthless insects.
Gabriel could not believe his boss treated him like a worthless insect.
The novel describes the greedy landlord as a fat insect feeding on the poor.
用法筆記
This figurative use is quite strong and somewhat old-fashioned. It appears more often in literature and film dialogue than in everyday conversation.