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dung beetle

American

noun

any of various scarab beetles that feed on or breed in dung.

dung beetle British

noun

any of the various beetles of the family Scarabaeidae and related families that feed on or breed in dung

"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

Etymology

Origin of dung beetle

First recorded in 1625–35

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

And when describing her underachieving brother’s shortcomings, she says, “He’s got the brains of a dung beetle and the ambitions of a French bureaucrat.”

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 6, 2025

Kuang’s dark literary thriller “Yellowface” and “I Eat Poop,” Mark Pett’s “absolutely adorable and very funny kid’s book about a dung beetle, with a really wonderful anti-bullying message.”

From Seattle Times • Feb. 23, 2024

The villain's glowing eye has also been referenced in the names of a dung beetle, a frog and a dinosaur.

From BBC • May 6, 2023

Epactoides giganteus — This dung beetle was newly described in 2021, based on a specimen collected on either Réunion Island or Madagascar in the 19th century and unseen since.

From Salon • Feb. 10, 2022

In my mind, in this moment I see a dung beetle, working with all its small might.

From "Beast Rider" by Tony Johnston & María Elena Fontanot de Rhoads

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023