lightning bug

SEE SYNONYMS FOR lightning bug ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

firefly.

Origin of lightning bug

An Americanism dating back to 1770–80

Words nearby lightning bug

lightless, lightly, lightness, lightning, lightning arrester, lightning bug, lightning chess, lightning conductor, lightning never strikes twice in the same place, lightning rod, lightning stroke

Words related to lightning bug

firefly, fireworm, glowworm, lampyrid, noctiluca

Example sentences from the Web for lightning bug

  • It was a rare kind, and I almost had one when a mosquito bit me and I had to let the lightning-bug go.

    The Motor Boys in the Clouds |Clarence Young

  • I want to get a new specimen of a lightning-bug I noticed in the garden.

    The Motor Boys in the Clouds |Clarence Young

  • In Borneo there is a species of lightning-bug that tourists carry around at night on spits, delighted with the novelty.

    Tales of Fishes |Zane Grey

  • When the sun struck him right, he was as good to follow as a lightning-bug.

    Some Rambling Notes of an Idle Excursion |Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

British Dictionary definitions for lightning bug

lightning bug

noun

US and Canadian another name for the firefly