caterpillar
the wormlike larva of a butterfly or a moth.
a person who preys on others; extortioner.
Origin of caterpillar
1Words Nearby caterpillar
Other definitions for Caterpillar (2 of 2)
a tractor intended for rough terrain, propelled by two endless belts or tracks that pass over a number of wheels.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use caterpillar in a sentence
So far, the companies that have reported having shipments held up range from IKEA to heavy-equipment maker caterpillar, potentially setting back building construction alongside home-improvement projects.
The fallout from the Suez Canal ship is coming to a store near you | Hilary George-Parkin | April 2, 2021 | VoxThe answer was to give the boat retractable caterpillar treads so it can rumble down the beach and into the water without needing to be towed.
This fast French military boat can crawl from water to land without wheels | Christina Mackenzie | February 3, 2021 | Popular-ScienceCompetition can be tough, he adds, because monarch caterpillars are limited in their food options.
Monarch caterpillars head-butt each other to fight for scarce food | Curtis Segarra | November 19, 2020 | Science NewsIf there isn’t enough food from the one plant to feed several caterpillars, “they won’t make it,” he says.
Monarch caterpillars head-butt each other to fight for scarce food | Curtis Segarra | November 19, 2020 | Science NewsMore testing is needed to learn how the different pesticides affect a caterpillar or the adult butterfly, he cautions.
Pesticides contaminate most food of western U.S. monarchs | Rebecca E. Hirsch | August 17, 2020 | Science News For Students
Nearby, a yellow caterpillar excavator sits idle next to an opening that once led into a cross-border tunnel.
How Mexico’s Cartels Are Behind the Border Kid Crisis | Caitlin Dickson | July 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWestport is also working with machinery giant caterpillar on new locomotives.
Her father worked for caterpillar and was a member of the United Auto Workers.
Could a Pro-Pot Lesbian Become the Next Governor of Maryland? | Jim Newell | March 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTcaterpillar notched record profits in 2012 and then in early 2013 bludgeoned its unions into accepting a six-year wage freeze.
Henry Ford Understood That Raising Wages Would Bring Him More Profit | Daniel Gross | January 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“I always try to communicate to our people that we can never make enough money,” as caterpillar CEO Doug Oberhelman put it.
Henry Ford Understood That Raising Wages Would Bring Him More Profit | Daniel Gross | January 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhat of the infinite goodness of God in teaching the grub of the ichneumon-fly to eat up the cabbage caterpillar alive?
God and my Neighbour | Robert BlatchfordThe man is as ugly as a caterpillar; but he has done me the most immense service a woman can receive from a man.
Catherine de' Medici | Honore de BalzacThe caterpillar produces silk, though it is not equal to that of the better known silkworm.
In the Wilds of Florida | W.H.G. KingstonGrimm has recorded that in old German, the caterpillar was named Alba, and that the Alp often takes the form of a butterfly.
Archaic England | Harold BayleyLuther, taking up a caterpillar, said: "'Tis an emblem of the devil in its crawling, and bears his colours in its changing hue."
The World's Greatest Books, Vol X | Various
British Dictionary definitions for caterpillar (1 of 2)
/ (ˈkætəˌpɪlə) /
the wormlike larva of butterflies and moths, having numerous pairs of legs and powerful biting jaws. It may be brightly coloured, hairy, or spiny
Origin of caterpillar
1British Dictionary definitions for Caterpillar (2 of 2)
/ (ˈkætəˌpɪlə) /
an endless track, driven by sprockets or wheels, used to propel a heavy vehicle and enable it to cross soft or uneven ground
a vehicle, such as a tractor, tank, bulldozer, etc, driven by such tracks
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for caterpillar
[ kăt′ər-pĭl′ər ]
The wormlike larva of a butterfly or moth. Caterpillars have thirteen body segments, with three pairs of stubby legs on the thorax and several on the abdomen, six eyes on each side of the head, and short antennae. Caterpillars feed mostly on foliage and are usually brightly colored. Many have poisonous spines.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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