an·ten·na
 antenna
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- pronunciation:
- aen
te
n
- features:
- Word History, Word Explorer
| part of speech: |
noun |
| inflections: |
antennae, antennas |
| definition 1: |
An antenna is a long, thin thing that sticks out from the head of insects and some kinds of sea animals. Each insect or sea animal has two of them. Butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, crabs, and lobsters are some animals that have antennas. Animals with antennas use them to feel and to smell. Antennas help them find things like food and also each other!
I was watching a butterfly on top of a flower the other day. I could see its antennas moving. I wonder if it was smelling the flower.
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| definition 2: |
An antenna is a long, thin piece of metal or wire that sends or receives radio or television signals. You often see an antenna attached to a car or to a radio.
When we wash our car, my dad puts its antenna down.
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The word
antenna is a Latin word for a long pole that sticks up from a ship's sail. "Antenna" entered the English language as a word for the feelers of insects in the 1300s.