pest

[ pest ]
See synonyms for pest on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an annoying or troublesome person, animal, or thing; nuisance.

  2. an insect or other small animal that harms or destroys garden plants, trees, etc.

  1. a deadly epidemic disease, especially a plague; pestilence.

Origin of pest

1
First recorded in 1545–55, pest is from the Latin word pestis plague

Other words for pest

Other words from pest

  • de-pest, verb (used with object)

Other definitions for Pest (2 of 2)

Pest
[ pest; Hungarian pesht ]

noun
  1. See under Budapest.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for pest

pest

/ (pɛst) /


noun
  1. a person or thing that annoys, esp by imposing itself when it is not wanted; nuisance

    • any organism that damages crops, injures or irritates livestock or man, or reduces the fertility of land

    • (as modifier): pest control

  1. rare an epidemic disease or pestilence

Origin of pest

1
C16: from Latin pestis plague, of obscure origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012