guano

noun

gua·​no ˈgwä-(ˌ)nō 

: a fertilizer containing the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats

broadly : excrement especially of seabirds or bats

Examples of guano in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The island of Redonda was devastated in the late 18th and early 19th centuries by guano mining operations that left behind invasive black rats and goats. —Cameron Pugh, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Nov. 2023

Measuring the impact of guano may seem unglamorous—the ultimate crappy job, even—which may explain why such systems went overlooked for so long. —Amy Brady, Scientific American, 17 Oct. 2023

The cave was first accessed in 1831 by the owner of the surrounding lands, who was looking for bat guano to use as fertilizer, per the study. —Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Oct. 2023

Flocks of pesky sea gulls, looking for free food, circle constantly, depositing their guano on roofs, cars and customers in nearby shopping centers. —Jesse McKinley Lauren Petracca, New York Times, 17 Sep. 2023

People in the region collect bats’ guano for fertilizer, hunt them for food and—in the Solomon Islands—even use their teeth as traditional currency. —Kate Evans, Scientific American, 28 Aug. 2023

Coaxing a virus that lies dormant in bat guano to grow in a cell culture is difficult, and usually the effort fails. —David Quammen, New York Times, 25 July 2023

While rabies poses a rare threat, bat guano is the most serious concern. —Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 27 June 2023

And seabirds on Tern roam even farther, providing important services as far as the waters off California and Alaska, including fertilizing the land and ocean with their guano, thus spurring the growth of plants, coral reefs and phytoplankton at the bottom of our food web. —Smithsonian Magazine, 10 July 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Spanish, from Quechua wanu fertilizer, dung

First Known Use

1604, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

guano

noun

gua·​no ˈgwän-ō 

: a substance composed chiefly of the excrement of seabirds or bats and used as a fertilizer