neonicotinoid

noun

neo·​nic·​o·​ti·​noid ˌnē-(ˌ)ō-ˈni-kə-tə-ˌnȯid 

plural neonicotinoids

: any of a class of systemic water-soluble insecticides (such as imidacloprid) chemically related to nicotine that are used especially in agriculture to control destructive pests (such as aphids and mites) and that selectively bind to the postsynaptic nicotinic receptors of insects to produce paralysis and death

The class of chemicals, called neonicotinoids, is used in agricultural fields worldwide to reduce crop-eating pests.

—Beth Mole

Neonicotinoids … are applied as seed or soil treatments, and also directly to the foliage of vegetable, orchard, field, turf and ornamental crops.

—Kathy Keatley Garvey

Several reports have blamed neonicotinoids, a relatively new class of pesticide, for aiding in the nearly decade-long die-off of honeybees.

—Douglas Quenqua

called also neonic

Examples of neonicotinoid in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Since the 1990s, the expansion of the use of these pesticides, known as neonicotinoids (chemicals related to the more familiar nicotine, which has pesticidal properties) has been associated with the wholesale decline in butterflies and other insect groups. —Bruce Beehler, Baltimore Sun, 17 Aug. 2025

Though the study didn’t evaluate the cause of the decline, the time frame aligns with the widespread use of the insecticide class known as neonicotinoids. —Rebecca Morin, USA Today, 6 Aug. 2025

In the meantime, Middleton recommends that insecticides — typically neonicotinoids such as imidacloprid or dinotefuran — be applied to susceptible palm trees every three to four months. —Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 July 2025

The other legislation, Senate Bill 9, included several climate-resiliency measures along with tougher restrictions on the use of rat poisons and class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids. —John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 3 July 2025

If the shelves and displays are stock full of butterfly-harming neonicotinoids and other insecticides, stop shopping there and tell them why. —Jessica Peralta, Oc Register, 4 June 2025

One recent study, for example, linked insecticides — and particularly neonicotinoids — to the decline of butterflies in the Midwest. —Benji Jones, Vox, 18 Sep. 2024

When planting native species, Boritt encourages people to stay away from dangerous chemical treatments like neonicotinoids that can kill native insects. —Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 29 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

neo- + nicotinoid "neurotoxic compound related to nicotine," from nicotine + -oid entry 1

First Known Use

1993, in the meaning defined above