pest

¹

[pest]

noun

1. an annoying or troublesome person, animal, or thing; nuisance.

   Synonyms: annoyance

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

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

   Synonyms: epidemic, scourge, pandemic

Pest

²

[pest, pesht]

noun

1. Budapest

pest

/ pɛst /

noun

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

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

   2. ( as modifier )

      pest control

3. rare,  an epidemic disease or pestilence

Other Word Forms

• de-pest verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of pest¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of pest¹

C16: from Latin pestis plague, of obscure origin

Example Sentences

There are more than 1,400 pests and diseases on the government's plant health risk register, but Ips has been labelled "public enemy number one".

From BBC

Ghanem went missing in May 2023 shortly after parting ways with the religious group and opening a pest control company that competed with a business operated by a group leader.

From Los Angeles Times

Ghanem, who had relocated to Nashville, was back in the Inland Empire in May 2023 to bolster his pest control business, according to police.

From Los Angeles Times

The pest primarily affects livestock, and authorities have said the risk to US public health was currently "very low".

From BBC

At that time the Salvation Army said pest control was brought in to fumigate the rooms affected.

From BBC

Related Words

• blight 
• bug 
• contagion 
• epidemic 
• infection 
• plague 
• scourge 
• virus