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# cicada

noun (a cicada, cicadas)

«cicada» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A cicada is a large insect with clear wings and big eyes that lives in warm places; male cicadas make a very loud buzzing or clicking song in summer. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cicada/#m1)
2. Young cicadas (nymphs) live underground for years, then climb out, shed their skin and become adults. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cicada/#m2)

### In the lessons

In science lessons cicadas show life cycles and metamorphosis: they leave empty skins on trees. Some North American cicadas (periodical cicadas) come out all together every 13 or 17 years — both prime numbers. In Australia, children collect cicadas with names like Green Grocer and Black Prince. Phrases: cicada song, cicada shell, periodical cicadas.

### Examples

- The cicadas sang loudly all through the hot afternoon. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cicada/#x1)
- We found an empty cicada shell stuck to the tree. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cicada/#x2)
- Periodical cicadas come out every 17 years in some parts of the USA. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cicada/#x3)
- Male cicadas make sound with drum-like parts on their bodies. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cicada/#x4)
- In Australia, the Green Grocer cicada is bright green. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cicada/#x5)
- Cicadas suck sap from trees. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cicada/#x6)
- The cicada nymph lived underground for years. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cicada/#x7)

### Note

Pronounced si-KAH-duh (UK) or si-KAY-duh (US). Plural cicadas. Myth: cicadas are not locusts (locusts are a kind of grasshopper). In maths, 13 and 17 are prime numbers, which helps the cicadas avoid predators with shorter cycles.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «cicada» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cicada/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«cicada» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/cicada.html) on Mova free.