Meanings
plural lightning bugs
- A firefly.
I watched as lightning bugs drifted in, glowing yellow against the shadows.
2019, Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Water Dancer, Penguin Books (2020), page 18
Synonyms & antonyms
nounnocturnal beetle common in warm regions having luminescent abdominal organs
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From lightning + bug, because the insects glow; whence also firefly. Compare glow fly, glowworm, and lanternfly.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
lightning bug. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lightning%20bug
“lightning bug.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lightning%20bug. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lightning bug,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lightning%20bug.
Source: lightning bug on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.