beetle
see also: Beetle
Pronunciation
  • IPA: /ˈbiːtəl/
    • (GA) IPA: [ˈbiɾəɫ]
Noun

beetle (plural beetles)

  1. Any of numerous species of insect in the order Coleoptera characterized by a pair of hard, shell-like front wings which cover and protect a pair of rear wings when at rest.
  2. (uncountable) A game of chance in which players attempt to complete a drawing of a beetle, different dice rolls allowing them to add the various body parts.
    • 1944, Queen's Nurses' Magazine (volumes 33-35, page 12)
      Guessing competitions were tackled with much enthusiasm, followed by a beetle drive, and judging by the laughter, this was popular with all.
  3. Alternative letter-case form of Beetle#English|Beetle (“car”)
Synonyms
  • (insect) bug (U.S. colloquial)
Translations Verb

beetle (beetles, present participle beetling; past beetled, past participle beetled)

  1. To move away quickly, to scurry away.
    He beetled off on his vacation.
Adjective

beetle

  1. Protruding, jutting, overhanging. (As in beetle brows.)
Verb

beetle (beetles, present participle beetling; past and past participle beetled)

  1. To loom over; to extend or jut.
    The heavy chimney beetled over the thatched roof.
    • c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act I, scene 4]:
      To the dreadful summit of the cliff / That beetles o'er his base into the sea.
    • Each beetling rampart, and each tower sublime.
Noun

beetle (plural beetles)

  1. A type of mallet with a large wooden head, used to drive wedges, beat pavements, etc.
  2. A machine in which fabrics are subjected to a hammering process while passing over rollers, as in cotton mills; a beetling machine.
Translations Verb

beetle (beetles, present participle beetling; past and past participle beetled)

  1. To beat with a heavy mallet.
  2. To finish by subjecting to a hammering process in a beetle or beetling machine.
    to beetle cotton goods

Beetle
Noun

beetle (plural beetles)

  1. A small car, the Volkswagen Beetle (original version made 1938–2003, similar models made 1997–2010 and since 2011)
Synonyms Translations


This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.009
Offline English dictionary