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doodlebug

 - 6 dictionary results
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doo⋅dle⋅bug

1  [dood-l-buhg]
Use doodlebug in a Sentence
–noun
the larva of an antlion.
Origin:
1865–70, Americanism; doodle 1 + bug 1
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doo⋅dle⋅bug

2  [dood-l-buhg]
–noun
1. any of various small, squat vehicles.
2. a divining rod or similar device supposedly useful in locating underground water, oil, minerals, etc.
3. British Informal. buzz bomb.
Origin:
1865–70; special use of doodlebug 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To doodlebug
ant lion  
n.  

  1. Any of various insects of the family Myrmeleontidae, the adults of which resemble dragonflies.

  2. The large-jawed larva of the ant lion, which digs a conical crater in the sand designed to trap ants and other insects for food. Also called doodlebug.

doo·dle·bug   (dōōd'l-bŭg')   
n.   Chiefly Southern U.S.

  1. See ant lion.

  2. See pill bug.

  3. See sow bug.

  4. A divining rod.


[Perhaps dialectal doodle, fool, simpleton; akin to Low German dudeldopp + bug.]
pill bug  
n.   In both senses also called slater, wood louse; also called regionally doodlebug.

  1. A small terrestrial isopod crustacean of the genus Armadillidium closely related to the sow bug and having a convex, segmented, flexible body enabling it to curl into a ball when disturbed. In this sense also called roly-poly.

  2. A sow bug.

Usage Note: Many people, especially science teachers, like to make a distinction between pill bugs and sow bugs. According to this usage, a pill bug, or roly-poly, is a terrestrial isopod crustacean whose segmented body gives it the ability to curl up into a ball when disturbed. A sow bug is any of several similar looking creatures that lack this ability. In popular usage, however, the names pill bug and sow bug, along with a number of other popular names, are used to refer to any of these tiny segmented crustaceans that are often mistaken for insects.
sow bug   (sou)   
n.   In both senses also called slater, wood louse; also called regionally doodlebug.

  1. Any of various small terrestrial isopod crustaceans, chiefly of the genera Oniscus and Porcellio, commonly found under logs or stones and having an oval, segmented body.

  2. A pill bug. See Usage Note at pill bug.


[From its piglike shape.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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