pest — a destructive insect or other animal that attacks crops, food, or livestock
Part of speech: NOUN
Definition: a destructive insect or other animal that attacks crops, food, or livestock
Pronunciation (IPA): /pest/
Example Sentences
- My little brother is such a pest when I'm trying to study for exams.
- The farmer used organic methods to control pests without harmful chemicals.
- Mosquitoes are not just annoying pests; they can also spread diseases.
pest
NOUN[/pest/]
a destructive insect or other animal that attacks crops, food, or livestock
While the gentle ladybug helped protect the garden, the greedy green caterpillar proved to be a destructive pest chewing through the cabbage leaves.
PEST (pestis / ancient plague) — spreading like a miniature plague across the wheat field, the locust swarm proved a devastating pest.
Checking the songbird nest high in the branches on his daily quest, the orchard keeper protected his fruit from every creeping pest.
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
Derived from Latin pestis, meaning 'plague' or 'pestilence'. The word originally referred to deadly infectious diseases, particularly the bubonic plague (Black Death) of medieval times, before semantic extension to describe disease-carrying insects and troublesome individuals.
Breakdown
From Latin pestis (plague, pestilence), the root directly carries the sense of epidemic disease and has been adopted into English with minimal morphological modification.
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“My little brother is such a pest when I'm trying to study for exams.”
“The farmer used organic methods to control pests without harmful chemicals.”
“Mosquitoes are not just annoying pests; they can also spread diseases.”
“Don't be a pest! I'll play with you after I finish my homework.”
📚Related Words
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