: any of various usually nocturnal lepidopteran insects with antennae that are often feathery, with a stouter body, duller coloring, and proportionately smaller wings than the butterflies, and with larvae that are plant-eating caterpillars. Recent Examples on the Web. Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage.

Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies. [1] . They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (suborder Rhopalocera) and neither subordinate taxon is used in modern classifications.

MOTH definition: 1. an insect with wings that is similar to a butterfly, usually flies at night, and is attracted to…. Learn more.

A moth is an insect like a butterfly, which usually flies about at night.

Jan 27, 2025 · moth, (order Lepidoptera), any of about 160,000 species of overwhelmingly nocturnal flying insects that, along with the butterflies and skippers, constitute the order Lepidoptera. Moths vary greatly in size, ranging in wingspan from about 4 mm (0.16 inch) to nearly 30 cm (about 1 foot). Highly adapted, they live in all but polar habitats.

(Animals) any of numerous insects of the order Lepidoptera that typically have stout bodies with antennae of various shapes (but not clubbed), including large brightly coloured species, such as hawk moths, and small inconspicuous types, such as the clothes moths.

Definition of moth noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. a flying insect with a long thin body and four large wings, like a butterfly, but less brightly coloured. Moths fly mainly at night and are attracted to bright lights. see also gypsy moth, silk moth Topics Insects, worms, etc. c1. Questions about grammar and vocabulary?

moth having nonfunctional mouthparts as adults; larvae feed on tree foliage and spin egg-shaped cocoons

any of numerous insects of the order Lepidoptera, generally distinguished from the butterflies by having feathery antennae and by having crepuscular or nocturnal habits. clothes moth.

Any of several small nocturnal insects that attack fabrics; a clothes moth (either the fabric-eating larva or the drab, winged adult). In early use the word moth seems to have been used for the larva of these insects.