peppered moth

noun

A light-coloured species of night-flying moth, Biston betularia.

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Meanings

nounpeppered moth (plural peppered moths)

plural peppered moths

  1. A light-coloured species of night-flying moth, Biston betularia.

    At the start of the Industrial Revolution, the common, light-coloured peppered moth stood out in the soot-covered landscape around coal plants.

    2015 May 21, Victoria Schlesinger, “Backyard evolution”, in Aeon, archived from the original on 06 Jan 2018
Cite this entry
APA

peppered moth. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/peppered%20moth

MLA

“peppered moth.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/peppered%20moth. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “peppered moth,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/peppered%20moth.

Source: peppered moth on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.