easy
A bee is an insect with six legs.
What does Insect mean?
An insect is an animal with six legs, one pair of antennae, and three main body parts.
Dictionary definition
An arthropod with six legs, one pair of antennae, and a body divided into a head, thorax, and abdomen; insect is also used more loosely for small crawling creatures and can describe something related to insects.
Example sentences
Insect in a sentence
medium
The class observed an insect through a magnifying glass.
hard
The insect survey counted beetles and ants but recorded spiders separately.
hard
The gardener checked the leaves for insect damage.
Writing practice
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Quick practice
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Practice the meaning of Insect
Answer three quick questions about its meaning and related words.
Question 1 of 3
Practice 1
What does insect mean?
An insect has six legs and a head, thorax, and abdomen.
Practice 2
Which sentence uses insect correctly?
The correct sentence uses insect in context.
Practice 3
An insect's six legs and wings, when present, attach to its ____.
An insect's legs and wings attach to the middle body section called the thorax.
Practice complete
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Insect
Voice settings
Sounds like
in · sekt · strongest beat: in
Tap each sound part, then blend the whole word together.
Learn
WordInsect.
Partnoun, adjective.
MeaningInsect means An insect is an animal with six legs, one pair of antennae, and three main body parts.
ExampleExample: A bee is an insect with six legs.
Word breakdown
2 syllables. Say each part, then blend the word.
- Syllables
- in · sekt
- Strongest beat
- in
- Ending
- sekt
- Tip
- Put a little extra energy on in.
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Synonym review
Does Insect have synonyms?
Insect has no precise general synonym. Bug is broader in everyday speech and narrower in technical use; arthropod and hexapod name broader groups, while bee and beetle name narrower groups.
Antonym review
Does Insect have an opposite?
Insect names a class of animals and has no direct antonym. Mammal, spider, and plant are contrasting categories, not opposites.
Word family
Insect word family
Base word
insect
noun
insects
More than one insect; use as a word-family form, not a separate page.
adjective
insectlike
Having features like an insect.
noun
insectivore
An animal or plant that eats insects.
Related words
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Student support
Understand Insect
Hint for students
Count six legs and look for a head, thorax, abdomen, and one pair of antennae; wings are common but not required.
Common mix-up
In everyday speech, bug may mean almost any small crawler. Scientifically, spiders are arachnids, not insects, and some insects have no wings.
Try it in class or at home
Students inspect diagrams of an ant, spider, centipede, and butterfly. They complete a feature table, classify each animal, and circle the clues that prove which examples are insects.
Teacher prompt
Why is a butterfly an insect but a spider is not? Build the answer from leg count, antennae, and the three insect body sections.
Animal Classification Wheel
Compare animals with the Classification Vocabulary Wheel
Spin this researched animal vocabulary wheel to compare body groups, backbones, diets, predator-prey roles, and the evidence behind each classification.
Learning activities
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