stick insect

noun

: any of various usually wingless phasmid insects (especially family Phasmatidae) with a long cylindrical body resembling a stick
broadly : phasmid

Examples of stick insect in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Most stick insects drop eggs onto the ground while hanging from a branch; Lord Howe Island stick insects do this too, but for some reason, Eve preferred sand. Darren Incorvaia, New York Times, 28 May 2024 By as early as 1921, the rats wiped out the island’s stick insects. Darren Incorvaia, New York Times, 28 May 2024 But that population of stick insects ultimately petered out too. Darren Incorvaia, New York Times, 28 May 2024 The only poor performance is that of a stick insect, which keeps waving its arms about. Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2024 Ranging from as little as a half-inch to as long as two feet, stick insects are innocuous to humans, and some people even keep them as pets. Stephen C. George, Discover Magazine, 8 May 2023 The world’s longest stick insect, measuring two feet from antennae to tail, was discovered in Borneo, Malaysia. Jill Neimark, Discover Magazine, 25 Jan. 2010 The Lord Howe Island stick insect, as it's called, was declared extinct in 1960. Veronique Greenwood, Discover Magazine, 27 Aug. 2012 The robot was modeled after a stick insect with six legs. IEEE Spectrum, 22 Mar. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stick insect.' 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

1826, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of stick insect was in 1826

Dictionary Entries Near stick insect

Cite this Entry

“Stick insect.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stick%20insect. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.

Kids Definition

stick insect

noun
: any of various usually wingless insects that have a long body resembling a stick

called also walking stick

More from Merriam-Webster on stick insect

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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