a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

a fool or simpleton; ninny.

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Example Sentences

One pesticide alone was harmless, but two together increased the damage by more than a thousandfold.

The university does not plan to use pesticide to control the insects.

Three-quarters put empty pesticide containers to domestic uses.

EXPAND

One pesticide alone was harmless, but two together increased the damage by more than a thousandfold.

The university does not plan to use pesticide to control the insects.

Three-quarters put empty pesticide containers to domestic uses.

Neem oil suffocates insects and contains pesticide properties.

But pesticide firms have managed to persuade farmers to spray everything with everything regardless.

We bombed them with a pesticide and still they came.

Beyond that, labels are often explicit about whether the pesticide at hand is toxic to bees, and how to avoid hurting them.

After all, the less pesticide they use, the less it costs them to bring a crop to harvest.

Pesticide works, but is unpopular anywhere near people.

It's much more than farmers planting organic seeds and eliminating pesticide use on their crops.

Pesticide kills frogs only if predators are around.

American farmers have rapidly adopted gene-modified crops because they tend to reduce pesticide use and improve yields.

On the one hand, they reduce the amount of pesticide needed.

Without the bats, and the conservationists who protect them, pesticide use could skyrocket.

Concerns about the plague, however, appear to outweigh those about the pesticide.

Old-school machines are dumb as dirt, dumping the same amount of fertilizer and pesticide everywhere.

Some of the pesticide turned out to have been only a few weeks old when it was buried.

Fertilizer and pesticide residues from agricultural activities also contribute to contamination of fresh water resources.

If the pesticide is used on that plant, it won't work if it's a weed.

Just several hundred survive, their historic populations decimated by habitat loss and pesticide.

That's not all pure loss, of course: one man's pest is another man's sale of pesticide or job applying it.

Caffeine's a plant pesticide plants use to discourage insects eating them.

So yes, for every pesticide there is nearly always an organic, less-hazardous solution.

Before he finished the story, four other farmers in the same village also killed themselves by drinking pesticide.

There's simply no excuse to be spraying pesticide on your lawn.

It is possible to make informed choices about pesticide risks in imported fruits and vegetables.

It's a novel about migrant farmworks that takes on pesticide use, environmental racism, and labor exploitation.

He believes it is only a matter of time before resistance develops-as it has to every other pesticide ever tried.

The fish then soak in the pesticide solution, which is later released into the estuarine or near shore habitat.

Sometimes you don't have to buy organic to buy foods low in pesticide residue.

Minimize fertilizer and pesticide use on your lawn and garden or switch to organic, nontoxic alternatives.

Yet you also point up the wide divergence of views on the threat of pesticide use.

Wegman apply hundreds of pounds of fertilizer and pesticide to their crops, hoping to improve yields and profits.

The island's wetlands have been largely shielded from pesticide runoff that has destroyed similar areas in other countries.

The consumer groups said the grocery industry was pushing for such a proposal in legislation on pesticide.

Organic cotton is chemical and pesticide free, is less damaging agriculturally, and produces a strong and durable fiber.

First, she touched upon the important agricultural issue of pesticide use.

And won't it be sad that it will be blow-back from a pesticide not adequately tested for damage to major populations.

For one thing, organic produce contains measurably less pesticide residue than conventional produce.

Plantations have no/low fertilizer need and no/low pesticide use.

Reduce pesticide exposure by buying organic cotton clothes.

The actual governement supports the industrial agriculture and pesticide lobbys.

Doctors say his birth defects are the result of pesticide poisoning.

Environmentally friendly clothing is made from organic materials and natural dyes to reduce pesticide and chemical use.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

pesticide (ˈpɛstɪˌsaɪd)

—n
	a chemical used for killing pests, esp insects and rodents

pesti'cidal

—*adj*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

pesticide

1939, a hybrid coined from Eng. pest (q.v.) + -cide.

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

pesticide pes·ti·cide (pěs'tĭ-sīd')
n.
A chemical used to kill pests, especially insects.

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

pesticide

(pěs'tĭ-sīd') Pronunciation Key
A chemical used to kill harmful animals or plants. Pesticides are used especially in agriculture and around areas where humans live. Some are harmful to humans, either from direct contact or as residue on food, or are harmful to the environment because of their high toxicity, such as DDT (which is now banned in many countries). Pesticides include fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and rodenticides. See more at fungicide , herbicide , insecticide.

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