insect
part of speech
noun (an insect, insects)
meaning for a pupil
An insect is a small animal with six legs and a body in three parts (head, thorax, abdomen); most insects have wings and antennae. Ants, bees, butterflies, beetles and flies are insects. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science, insects are invertebrates (no backbone) with an exoskeleton; many go through metamorphosis (egg, larva, pupa, adult). They pollinate flowers, feed birds and recycle dead things. In safety, some insects sting (bees, wasps) or bite (mosquitoes); tell an adult if a sting makes you swell or find breathing hard. Spiders are NOT insects: they have eight legs.
examples
- A ladybird is a small insect. tree →
- Insects have six legs. tree →
- Bees are useful insects that pollinate flowers. tree →
- We looked for insects under the log. tree →
- The insect has two antennae. tree →
- A caterpillar changes into a butterfly. tree →
- Use insect repellent when camping. tree →
- Count the legs: if there are eight, it is not an insect. tree →
- "Away with you, vile insect!" said a Lion angrily to a Gnat that was buzzing around his head. tree →
note
Countable; «an insect» (vowel sound). Common trap: spiders, scorpions, woodlice and worms are not insects. «Bug» is used for any insect in everyday speech, though scientists use «bug» for one group. In maths problems, each insect has 6 legs: 5 insects have 5 × 6 = 30 legs.
In the corpora
- A dragonfly has 6 legs and 4 wings, like many insects.
- In Kenya, hornbills and dwarf mongooses team up: the birds catch insects the mongooses disturb and call out warnings of hawks.
- A spider has eight legs; an insect, such as a fly, has six.
- Web spiders feel vibrations so well they can tell a trapped insect from a leaf or a raindrop.
- A tiny pipistrelle, lighter than a coin, can eat around 3,000 small insects in one night.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «insect» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.