crop duster

noun

: a person who sprays crops especially with fungicidal or insecticidal dusts from an airplane
also : the airplane thus used

Examples of crop duster in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Clark said that the single-engine tanker, a small and nimble plane that looks like a crop duster, was located in steep, forested terrain on Friday morning after the search was suspended at nightfall the day before. CBS News, 26 July 2024 North by Northwest contains several of the most thrilling sequences in the director’s filmography, including the darkly comedic drunk driving scene, the showdown with the crop duster, and the climactic chase atop Mount Rushmore. Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 27 Mar. 2024 In one hallucinatory work, Grant is honored with his likeness superimposed over the North by Northwest image of him fleeing not a crop duster but a sea of menstrual blood and baby legs. Jordan Riefe, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Jan. 2023 Sirangelo, who began his aeronautical journey as a crop duster, spent a year combing for answers. David Kushner, Discover Magazine, 5 Jan. 2011 My father was a crop duster in the Texas Panhandle, a land where memories of the Dust Bowl remained painfully fresh even as the farmers remained stubbornly persistent. Carrie McKean, The Atlantic, 23 Nov. 2022 That plane, apparently a crop duster, was registered to J&J Air Service LLC of Weiner. Bill Bowden, Arkansas Online, 1 June 2022 That plane, a crop duster, was registered to Hackberry Flying Service of Caraway. Bill Bowden, Arkansas Online, 1 June 2022 Since the 1920s, farmers have grown rice in the Sacramento Valley, where old hands fly crop duster planes and rice emblems mark the county buildings. Ari Plachta, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crop duster.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1939, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of crop duster was in 1939

Dictionary Entries Near crop duster

Cite this Entry

“Crop duster.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crop%20duster. Accessed 24 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

crop duster

noun
: a person who sprays crops from an airplane especially with preparations to control insects or fungi
also : the airplane used for such spraying

More from Merriam-Webster on crop duster

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