ladybug

IPA/ˈleɪdibʌɡ/
KK[lˈedibˌʌɡ]IPA/ˈleɪdibʌɡ/

ladybug — noun

1. a small round beetle, usually bright red or orange with black spots, that lives

1.nounB1
Definition

a small round beetle, usually bright red or orange with black spots, that lives in gardens and fields and eats insects that damage plants

Example

A bright red ladybug landed on the gardener's sleeve this morning.

countable noun with colour description

The children watched a ladybug crawl slowly across a large green leaf.

verb pattern: watch + noun + bare infinitive

Common collocations
  • red ladybug
  • ladybug landed on
  • ladybug crawled across
  • find a ladybug
  • watch a ladybug
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

a ladybug

ladybugs (plural)

Usage Note

Ladybug is the common American English name. In British English, the same insect is usually called a ladybird. The insect is considered good luck in many cultures, and gardeners welcome it because it eats aphids that damage plants.

Common Mistakes

Look at that beautiful ladybug insect!
Look at that beautiful ladybug!
Ladybug already means the insect, so adding 'insect' is unnecessary.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Ladybug is the everyday American term for this small red beetle with black spots. Ladybird is the British equivalent — used in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Lady beetle is a more formal or scientific name that some entomologists prefer because the insect is technically a beetle, not a true bug. In casual conversation, ladybug and ladybird are fine for most situations; a gardener might say 'I saw a ladybird on the roses' in London, while someone in Chicago would say 'a ladybug landed on my hand'. Lady beetle appears mostly in textbooks and field guides.

ladybug ↗ladybird ↗lady beetle

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • land on
  • crawl across
  • fly away

Prepositions

Etymology

EnglishGermanicLatin

The name ladybug combines lady (from 'Our Lady', the Virgin Mary — a reference in medieval Europe) with bug. The red shell with seven black spots was said to symbolise the seven sorrows of Mary. The word first appeared in English in the 1600s as lady-bird, and later ladybug became common in American English. The insect has been associated with good luck for centuries.