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insect Definition

in·sect (in′sekt′)

noun

  1. any of a large class (Insecta) of small arthropod animals characterized, in the adult state, by division of the body into head, thorax, and abdomen, three pairs of legs on the thorax, and, usually, two pairs of membranous wings, including beetles, bees, flies, wasps, and mosquitoes
  2. popularly any small arthropod, usually wingless, including spiders, centipedes, pill bugs, and mites
  3. an unimportant or contemptible person

Etymology: < L insectum (animale), lit., notched (animal), neut. of pp. of insecare, to cut into < in-, in + secare, to cut (see saw): from the segmented bodies: cf. entomo-

insect Synonyms

insect

n.

bug, beetle, arthropod, scarab, mite, vermin, cootie*; see also pest 1. see also ant, bee 1, flea, fly 1, mosquito.

Kinds of insects include: ant, bristletail, louse, flea, gnat, springtail, earwig, stone fly, May fly, dragonfly, darning needle, termite, thrips, plant bug, cicada, aphid, scale insect, leaf insect, alder fly, lacewing, mealy wing, mantis, ant lion, beetle, Japanese beetle, scorpion fly, caddis fly, butterfly, moth, true fly, sawfly, ichneumon fly, seventeen-year locust, bedbug, caterpillar, centipede, millipede, grasshopper, cricket, walking stick, katydid, daddy-longlegs, wasp, bumblebee, honeybee, yellow jacket, hornet, cockroach, silverfish, potato bug, corn borer, boll weevil, stinkbug, firefly;

insect Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • pollinate: Make sure to lift the sides of the fleece during the warmest part of the day, to allow pollinating insects to enter.
  • repel: Others are either alcohol based or made from hot spices to repel insects.
  • crawl: Look for the products that are specifically designed to deal with crawling insects.
  • fly: The amber color reduces the spectrum of light that the flying insects can see, thus sending them to a brighter source of light.

Converse of subject

  • pollinate: Flowers are pollinated by various small insects attracted by the nectar.
  • secrete: Lacer for ships made from resin secreted by insects called lac.

Adjective modifier

  • biting: Nets also give the user a peaceful night where any biting insects are prevalent.
  • beneficial: With Bt maize, the reduction in use of insecticides should result in less harm to beneficial insects.
  • wingless: They are small wingless insects which live in the hair and suck blood from the scalp.
  • aquatic: Consequently much more is known about them than about other aquatic insects.
  • sucking: The problem actually stemmed from an infestation of scale, a sap sucking insect that attacks the plant.

Modifies a noun

  • pest: Does the Council provide a service for treating insect pests?
  • repellent: Bites and Stings We've already looked at insect repellents, but here are few more remedies to try.
  • bite: All insect bites can usually be treated with an antiseptic cream.
  • repellant: Why not buy her a can of insect repellant the next time you go shopping?
  • larva: Feeds on tubers, seeds, bulbs, insects and insect larvae.
  • infestation: Each berry contains 3 - 6 seeds, although some of these are often infertile, due to insect infestations.

Noun used with modifier

  • stick: Sabah stick insects are one of the smaller types of stick insect.
  • borer: This sweet corn is genetically modified to protect itself from corn borer insect damage ( 1 ).

Preposition: for

  • pollination: From humming bird to cactus Many flowers rely on insects for pollination, which fly from flower to flower, covered in pollen.
insect Quotes

If a traveller were informed that such a man was Leader of the House of Commons, he may well begin to comprehend how the Egyptians came to worship an insect.

—Disraeli, Benjamin, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield

L'amour a son instinct, il sait trouver le chemin du coeur comme le plus faible insecte marche a'   sa fleur avec une irre¤  sistible volonte¤   qui ne s'e¤  pouvante de rien. Love has its own instinct. It knows how to find the road to the heart just as the weakest insect moves towarditsflowerbyanirresistiblewillwhichfearsnothing.

—Balzac, Honore¤   de

   The insect youth are on the wing, Eager to taste the honeyed spring, And float amid the liquid noon: Some lightly o'er the current skim, Some show their gaily-gilded trim Quick-glancing to the sun.

—Gray,Thomas

Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigenTr a« umen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheueren Ungeziefer verwandelt. When Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.

—Kafka, Franz

A fly, Sir, may sting a stately horse and make him wince; but one is but an insect, and the other is a horse still.

—Johnson, Samuel known as Dr Johnson