locust

noun

lo·​cust ˈlō-kəst 

1

: short-horned grasshopper

especially : a migratory grasshopper often traveling in vast swarms and stripping the areas passed of all vegetation

2

: cicada

3

a

: any of various leguminous trees: such as

(1)

: carob sense 1

(2)

: black locust

(3)

: honey locust

b

: the wood of a locust tree

Examples of locust in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That pattern changed in 2022, when ChatGPT was released into the world, after which everything sped up like a movie on fast-forward, and robots spread like locusts. — Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026

Despite the Wallow Fire’s worst, KP Creek retains shade from cliffs, old ponderosa pines, and thorny Mexican locusts. — Brandon Loomis, AZCentral.com, 8 Sep. 2026

From late October to early November, the route offers a kaleidoscopic display of trees, such as quaking aspen, cottonwood, alder, bigtooth maple, New Mexican locust, and Arizona walnut, beginning at about mile marker 21. — Nicholas Derenzo, Travel + Leisure, 25 Aug. 2026

Great teeming swarms of them, with an occasional locust seen in big buggy close-up, and shots of flying from a locust’s-eye view (the Steadicam had just been invented). — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 23 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French locuste, from Latin locusta

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing locust

• black locust
• desert locust
• honey locust
• locust bean
• seventeen-year locust

Rhymes for locust

• focused
• focussed
• refocused
• unfocused

Kids Definition

locust

noun

lo·​cust ˈlō-kəst 

1

a

: short-horned grasshopper

especially : a grasshopper that often migrates in vast swarms and eats up the plants in its course

b

: cicada

2

a

: any of various trees of the legume family with hard wood

b

: the wood of a locust