Real Dictionary

insect
countable noun: An insect is a small animal that has six legs. Most insects have wings. Ants, flies, butterflies, and beetles are all insects.

insect in American English
any of a large class (Insecta) of small arthropod animals characterized, in the adult state, by division of the body into head, thorax, and abdomen, three pairs of legs on the thorax, and, usually, two pairs of membranous wings, including beetles, bees, f
adjective: of, pertaining to, like, or used for or against insects
noun: any animal of the class Insecta, comprising small, air-breathing arthropods having the body divided into three parts (head, thorax, and abdomen), and having three pairs of legs and usually two pairs of wings

insect in British English
noun: any small air-breathing arthropod of the class Insecta, having a body divided into head, thorax, and abdomen, three pairs of legs, and (in most species) two pairs of wings. Insects comprise about five sixths of all known animal species, with a total of ov