How to Use butterfly in a Sentence

butterfly

1 of 2 noun
  • They competed in the butterfly.
  • The butterflies when their name lights up your phone.
    — Essence, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Bright blue butterflies spread their wings across these short nude nails.
    — Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 18 June 2026
  • Some even flaunt a butterfly-style roof.
    — Kristine Hansen, Architectural Digest, 30 Apr. 2026
  • We are now dressed in butterflies.
    — Literary Hub, 3 Mar. 2026
  • How do butterflies taste their food?
    — Anna Halkidis, Parents, 29 May 2026
  • The rope around my left thigh pinched and clawed at the butterflies inked on my skin.
    — Literary Hub, 17 June 2026
  • It’s wrapped in masa dyed with butterfly pea and served on sautéed ramps and mole verde.
    — Louisa Kung Liu Chu, Chicago Tribune, 27 May 2026
  • In other words, don’t kill a butterfly or moth to send it in.
    — John Sharp | [email protected], al, 6 Aug. 2023
  • This style got its name as the soft layers look like butterfly wings.
    — Audrey Noble, InStyle, 10 Mar. 2026
  • By the end of the day, 14 more butterflies have a new home.
    — Itay Hod, CBS News, 28 Apr. 2026
  • The butterfly rash is a facial rash that blooms across the cheeks and nose.
    — Sara Coughlin, Health, 17 May 2023
  • In the early years of the project, no butterflies were found on site.
    — Emily Cappiello, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026
  • To the couple, the butterfly was a sign from above.
    — Ashlyn Robinette, PEOPLE, 19 Jan. 2026
  • Bowlan had butterflies as his career night played out.
    — Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Behold, the butterfly nails of my pre-teen dreams.
    — Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 18 June 2026
  • And mind you, this is our social butterfly.
    — Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025
  • Abelia attracts butterflies and blooms spring through fall.
    — Steve Bender, Southern Living, 27 May 2026
  • Another is black and red and fans its tail like a butterfly.
    — Sheryl Devore, Chicago Tribune, 28 Apr. 2026
  • The thought sends butterflies to my stomach.
    — Michael Nied, People.com, 26 Aug. 2025
  • Get garden-chic vibes with a butterfly design on a milky nude base.
    — Omenaa Boakye, InStyle, 18 Jan. 2026
  • This simple but charming butterfly house is both yard decor and a safe haven.
    — Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Mar. 2026
  • What’s more playful than butterfly nail art?
    — Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 18 June 2026
  • More public art can be found all around town in the form of large metal butterflies.
    — Jennifer Stewart Kornegay, Southern Living, 23 Aug. 2025
  • In it, Mario snoozes against a tree as a butterfly flutters by his head.
    — Randall Colburn, EW.com, 14 Sep. 2025
  • At their waist is what looks like the body of the butterfly, but is in fact a torus of dark dust seen edge-on.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 28 Aug. 2025
  • Use a bead for the butterfly’s head and wire for the antennae.
    — Claire Hoppe Norgaard, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Sep. 2025
  • Catching a mess of hoppers is as easy as strolling through tall grass with a butterfly net.
    — Chad Mason, Outdoor Life, 3 June 2026
  • Matching toile shams with a rose-and-butterfly motif are a must as well.
    — Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 4 Mar. 2026
  • The star lounged in a nude mesh naked dress dotted with vibrant butterflies.
    — Lara Walsh, InStyle, 3 June 2026

butterfly

2 of 2 verb
  • Butterfly the chicken before roasting.
  • How to butterfly a steak Lay the flank steak flat on a cutting board.
    — The Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen, Good Housekeeping, 10 Apr. 2020
  • Butchers hand-cut and butterfly the ribeyes into the shape of a heart.
    — Chris Sims, The Indianapolis Star, 10 Feb. 2023
  • Zilpha bought a bird book as well as other books to put names to butterfly and moth, tree and fern.
    — Annie Proulx, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2025
  • For extra crispy edges, butterfly them before grilling.
    — Joe Sevier, Bon Appetit Magazine, 26 June 2026
  • To butterfly a large chicken breast half, put it on a cutting board with the thickest portion facing your sharp knife.
    — Jeanmarie Brownson, chicagotribune.com, 11 Sep. 2019
  • Or butterfly or flatten chicken breasts.
    — Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Apr. 2026
  • Prep your shrimp by peeling, deveining, and butterflying each one.
    — Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Jan. 2025
  • At the supermarket, ask the butcher to spatchcock or butterfly the whole chicken for you.
    — Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 9 Dec. 2023
  • Learn how to handle raw chicken with this step-by-step guide to butterflying boneless, skinless, chicken breast.
    — Country Living, 21 Sep. 2010
  • Many recipes for chicken breast call to butterfly the cut or carefully pound it out to a relatively even thickness.
    — Catherine Jessee, Southern Living, 9 Dec. 2024
  • From low-rise jeans to butterfly motifs to rimless shades, the early aughts have officially had a stylish comeback.
    — Rachel Besser, Vogue, 14 Dec. 2021
  • The bag opens the same way the standard-sized Weekenders do, with a metal frame that butterflies open to give you access to more of your things at once.
    — Cai Cramer, Peoplemag, 23 Aug. 2023
  • Select a small tenderloin — about 1 pound — and use a sharp knife to butterfly it open to an even thickness that will cook in about 7 minutes.
    — Tribune News Service, cleveland, 2 Apr. 2021
  • After butterflying the breast, place a piece of plastic wrap or parchment on top and use a meat mallet or small, heavy skillet to pound it to an even thickness.
    — Martha Stewart, 21 June 2026
  • In another week or so, the pupa inside completes its metamorphosis to butterfly, emerging in search of food and a mate.
    — Arricca Elin Sansone, Country Living, 8 June 2020
  • Hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies frequent the unusual blooms.
    — Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 6 Apr. 2025
  • Participants will learn about specific plants that butterflies and other pollinators love and get tips for planting and caring for them.
    — Orlando Sentinel Staff, Orlando Sentinel, 18 July 2024
  • And the wall is topped with stadium lighting, bright enough to turn night into day, disrupting the circadian rhythms that butterflies use to navigate and feed.
    — Outside Online, 9 Oct. 2024
  • Despite its legendary sharp teeth, black piranha is a meaty fish that’s usually caught by hand line and prepared by carefully butterflying and roasting over a fire.
    — National Geographic, 20 May 2020
  • Achieve the ultimate crispiness when roasting a chicken without worrying about dryness by butterflying the bird.
    — Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 28 Nov. 2023
  • The pack also doesn’t totally butterfly open, which means my clothes and gear stay in place, and the mesh pocket inside the main compartment is great for separating dirty clothes from my clean ones.
    — Maggie Slepian, Travel + Leisure, 10 Jan. 2026
  • Some larvae settled down, plantlike, to build colonies of flower bud–like polyps, of which some went butterflying off while others stayed behind as bountifully budding polyps.
    — Mandy-Suzanne Wong, Longreads, 5 Feb. 2026
  • When Jacobsen transformed the specimen from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly with a flick of her wrists, Charlotte hopped as if about to take flight herself.
    — René A. Guzman, San Antonio Express-News, 28 Mar. 2021
  • My mother, Viola Bloomer — pinochle enthusiast and pilot — drew a great breath and dove after her son, legs butterflying up into a neat pike.
    — Charna Flam, People.com, 25 Aug. 2025
  • Other butterflies rely on a single host plant for survival as well, such as zebra swallowtail butterflies and paw paw trees, and spicebush swallowtail butterflies on spicebush shrubs.
    — Susan Brownstein, cleveland, 25 July 2023
  • But the more famous kind of metamorphosis is more total—that quintessential transmogrification from a caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly.
    — Sabrina Imbler, Harper's BAZAAR, 6 Dec. 2022
  • The two-level garden feels like a slice of rainforest jungle and includes a cave-like tunnel and 20-foot waterfall, around which butterflies flutter between colorful flowers.
    — Chris Schalkx, Travel + Leisure, 21 Aug. 2023
  • Adds dry-brining and butterflying and includes vegetarian centerpiece alternatives, such as mushroom lasagna and savory cabbage strudel.
    — Dylan Moriarty, Washington Post, 9 Nov. 2023
  • Madeline Champagne, an amateur lepidopterist — someone who studies moths and butterflies — said monarchs have a short life cycle, going from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly in about four weeks.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 8 Sep. 2021

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

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