water bug

noun

any of various aquatic bugs, as of the family Belostomatidae (giant water bug).
(loosely) a large cockroach, especially the American cockroach.

Origin of water bug

First recorded in 1740–50

Words nearby water bug

water bottle, water bouget, water boy, water brash, water buffalo, water bug, water butt, water cannon, water carrier, water chestnut, water chinquapin

Example sentences from the Web for water bug

  • The gnat is a case in point: the water-bug, common in our ponds and ditches, is another.

    Chatterbox, 1905. |Various

  • You are no more than a water-bug on the surface of the river.

    Nuggets of the New Thought |William Walker Atkinson,

British Dictionary definitions for water bug

water bug

noun

any of various heteropterous insects adapted to living in the water or on its surface, esp any of the family Belostomatidae (giant water bugs), of North America, India, and southern Africa, which have flattened hairy legs