caterpillar

/ˈkætəpɪlə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈkætərpɪlər/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈka-tər-ˌpi-lər -tə-/ (ame, mw)

caterpillar — 名詞

  • caterpillarsingular
  • caterpillarsplural

1. a small creature at an early stage of its life, with a long soft body and severa

1.名詞A2
釋義

毛毛蟲

蝴蝶或蛾的幼蟲，身體長軟多足

a small creature at an early stage of its life, with a long soft body and several pairs of legs, that eats leaves and later becomes a butterfly or a moth

例句

A small green caterpillar was eating a leaf in the garden.

花園裡有一隻綠色的小毛毛蟲正在吃葉子。

collocation: caterpillar + eating a leaf

The children watched the caterpillar turn into a beautiful butterfly.

孩子們看著那條毛毛蟲變成一隻美麗的蝴蝶。

verb pattern: turn into [butterfly]

同義詞
  • larva

    more scientific term for the early life stage of insects; B2-level vocabulary

  • grub

    specifically refers to the larva of beetles; less common in general conversation

  • maggot

    larva of flies, usually found in decaying matter; has a negative connotation

反義詞
  • butterfly

    the adult winged form that a caterpillar develops into

  • moth

    another adult form that some caterpillars become

常見錯誤

❌I saw a caterpillar with wings.
✅I saw a caterpillar crawling on a leaf.
💡caterpillars do not have wings; only adult butterflies and moths do.
❌A centipede turns into a butterfly.
✅A caterpillar turns into a butterfly.
💡centipedes are a different type of creature that do not change into butterflies.