I. ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ noun
Etymology: Middle English grasshopper, from gras grass + hopper
1. : any of numerous plant-eating orthopterous insects (suborder Saltatoria) having the hind legs adapted for leaping, biting and chewing mouthparts, stridulating organs in the males and rarely in the females, incomplete metamorphosis, and usually wings as adults and being serious pests of plant life both because of their relatively large size and great numbers and in some areas because of their habit of engaging in migratory flights in which whole regions may be stripped of vegetation — see acrididae , tettigoniidae ; katydid , long-horned grasshopper , short-horned grasshopper
2. : a small firework that jumps about
3. : an early locomotive with a vertical boiler and cylinders
4. : a light unarmed scouting and liaison airplane used especially for helping to direct field-artillery fire
II. intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
1. : to fish with a natural or artificial grasshopper for bait
2. : to move a riverboat over shallows or sandbars by means of poles suggesting stilts
III. adjective
1. : suggesting the grasshopper in appearance or action
a grasshopper plow
a grasshopper type of counterbalance
2. : light and frivolous : untouched by care for the future
a grasshopper brain
IV. noun
: a cocktail made with crème de menthe, crème de cacao, and usually light cream