tiger moth

noun

: any of a family (Arctiidae) of stout-bodied moths usually with broad striped or spotted wings

Examples of tiger moth in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Head to the Valley of the Butterflies, a gorgeous forest full of streams and trodden paths, where tiger moths mature in July and August. Sarah Souli, Travel + Leisure, 22 Jan. 2024 Himmelman says that woolly bears (those fuzzy black and brown caterpillars) and other tiger moth caterpillars spend winter in leaf debris. Tovah Martin, Washington Post, 30 Oct. 2023 The ladybug begins life as a spiky black crawler; the garden tiger moth starts out life as an extravagantly furred caterpillar. Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2023 If a predator does attack, the wood tiger moth may ooze liquids from two parts of its body. Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 29 Sep. 2017 That's how the expression would go if a wood tiger moth coined it, anyway. Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 29 Sep. 2017 The scientists still don't know how the wood tiger moth makes both of these fluids. Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 29 Sep. 2017 Some species of tiger moth, while making their dramatic maneuvers, also make clicking sounds that jam a bat's sonar. Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 11 June 2013 Evasive flight behavior in response to bat attacks was markedly different between the two tiger moth species. Seriously Science, Discover Magazine, 19 May 2016

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tiger moth.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1816, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tiger moth was in 1816

Dictionary Entries Near tiger moth

Cite this Entry

“Tiger moth.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tiger%20moth. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

tiger moth

noun
: any of a family of stout-bodied moths usually with broad striped or spotted wings

More from Merriam-Webster on tiger moth

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