butterfly

Fetched 2026-10-26 (cache).

Synonyms: butterly, utterly, buttery, bitterly, butterfat, butterflys

Antonyms: butterly, utterly, buttery, bitterly, butterfat, butterflys

Related words from Datamuse; suggestions, not definitions.

Noun

1. {{senseid|en|Q11946202}}A flying [[insect]] of the [[order]] {{taxfmt|Lepidoptera|order}}, distinguished from moths by their [[diurnal]] activity and generally brighter colouring. {{defdate|from 11th c.}}
2. {{lb|en|medicine|attributive}} A use of surgical tape, cut into thin strips and placed across an open wound to hold it closed.
3. {{senseid|en|Q245249}}{{lb|en|swimming}} The [[butterfly stroke]]. {{defdate|from 20th c.}}
4. Any of several plane curves that look like a butterfly; see {{w|Butterfly curve (transcendental)}} and {{w|Butterfly curve (algebraic)}}. {{C|en|Curves}}
5. {{lb|en|in plural}} {{ellipsis of|en|butterflies in one's stomach|butterflies in one’s stomach|A sensation of excited anxiety felt in the stomach}}.
6. {{lb|en|now|rare}} Someone seen as being [[unserious]] and (originally) [[dress#Verb|dressed ]] [[gaudily]]; someone [[flighty]] and [[unreliable]]. {{defdate|from 17th c.}}
7. {{lb|en|finance}} A combination of four [[option]]s of the same type at three [[strike price]]s giving limited profit and limited risk.
8. {{lb|en|[[alternate history]]}} A [[random]] [[change]] in an [[aspect]] of the [[timeline]] seemingly unrelated to the primary [[point of divergence]], resulting from the [[butterfly effect]].
9. {{lb|en|sports}} A type of [[stretch]] in which one sits on the ground with the legs folded into a shape like that of a butterfly's wings, slightly rocking them up and down, resembling the wings [[flutter]]ing.
10. A person who changes [[partners]] [[frequently]].
11. {{lb|en|mining}} A safety link or detaching hook above the [[cage]] attached to the winding rope to prevent the cage from being overwound.
12. {{lb|en|Philippines|Philippine politics|often|pejorative}} [[party]] [[switcher]]; [[turncoat]].

Verb

1. {{lb|en|transitive}} To [[cut]] ([[food]]) almost entirely in [[half]] and [[spread]] the halves [[apart]], in a shape [[suggest]]ing the [[wing]]s of a [[#Noun|butterfly]].
2. {{lb|en|transitive}} To [[cut]] [[strip]]s of [[surgical]] [[tape]] or [[plaster]]s into [[thin]] [[strip]]s, and [[place]] [[across]] (a [[gaping]] [[wound]]) to [[close]] it.
3. {{lb|en|transitive|of the [[point of divergence]] of an [[alternate history]] scenario}} To cause events after the point of divergence to not [[happen]] as they did in [[real]] [[history]], and people [[conceive]]d after the point of divergence to not [[exist]] in [[recognizable]] form, due to the [[random]] [[variation]]s [[introduce]]d by the [[butterfly effect]].

Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wiktionary dump) · cached copy, not a rewrite.