Illustration of swallowtail
- swallowtail 3
swallowtail
noun
swal·low·tail
ˈswä-lō-ˌtāl 
-lə-
1
: a deeply forked and tapering tail (as of a swallow)
2
: tailcoat
3
: any of various usually large brightly marked butterflies (family Papilionidae, especially genus Papilio) with each hind wing typically having an elongated process
Examples of swallowtail in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Joyce Carter Butterfly Garden alone hosts 32 species, including giant swallowtails, monarchs, buckeyes, spicebush, cabbage whites, cloudless sulfurs, and black swallowtails.
—
Carrie Honaker, Travel + Leisure, 15 Feb. 2026
There is hope implied in this: a wormy caterpillar can turn one day into a flitting swallowtail, a modest nymph into a dragon-like salamander.
—Literary Hub, 24 Nov. 2025
The herbs dill, parsley and fennel host the anise swallowtail, and the California pipevine hosts the pipevine swallowtail.
—Sara Okeefe, Mercury News, 17 Nov. 2025
As a bonus, parsley attracts many beneficial insects, pollinators, and butterflies, including swallowtails.
Flowers.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for swallowtail
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Carrie Honaker, Travel + Leisure, 15 Feb. 2026
There is hope implied in this: a wormy caterpillar can turn one day into a flitting swallowtail, a modest nymph into a dragon-like salamander.
—Literary Hub, 24 Nov. 2025
The herbs dill, parsley and fennel host the anise swallowtail, and the California pipevine hosts the pipevine swallowtail.
—Sara Okeefe, Mercury News, 17 Nov. 2025
As a bonus, parsley attracts many beneficial insects, pollinators, and butterflies, including swallowtails.
Flowers.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for swallowtail
Cite this Entry
“Swallowtail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swallowtail. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
swallowtail
noun
swal·low·tail
ˈswäl-ō-ˌtāl
1
: a deeply forked and tapering tail (as of a swallow)
2
: any of various usually large butterflies in which the hind wing is elongated into a process that resembles a tail
swallow-tailed
adjective
ˌswäl-ō-ˈtāld
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