Definition of "grasshopper" in English

noun

1. A mostly herbivorous insect of the order Orthoptera, noted for its ability to jump long distances and for the habit of some species communicating by stridulation; they are related to but distinct from crickets.

2. A cocktail made with crème de menthe and optionally with crème de cacao.

3. (figuratively) A young student in the initial stages of training who has been chosen on account of their obvious talent.

   • Although we don't know exactly why Li is chosen to dance, we witness a man assuring officials that the child isn't from bourgeois stock. Phew. There are no known landowners in the family, so the grasshopper passes some cultural purity test, in a state often fixated on class warfare, driven by the cult of personality, and bullied by paranoia.

4. (slang, drugs) A frequent user of marijuana.

5. (music) In ordinary square or upright pianos of London make, the escapement lever or jack, so made that it can be taken out and replaced with the key.

6. (chess) A fairy chess piece which moves orthogonally or diagonally, but must hop over a piece to move or capture, landing one square beyond the hopped piece.

verb

1. (transitive) Of a crop, to be ruined or destroyed by grasshoppers.

2. (transitive) To move a riverboat over an obstruction, such as a sandbar.

3. (transitive, rare) Of an animal, to hunt and eat grasshoppers.