Definition of pest
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Examples of pest in a Sentence
These insects are pests for farmers.
mice and other household pests
You're being a real pest. Would you leave us alone, please?
Recent Examples of pest from the Web
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Although squash and cucumbers can be planted in June and July, production is difficult during midsummer due to pest problems.
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Additional information on removing unwanted woody plants is available in the Woody Weed Invaders pest notes at the University of California’s Integrated Pest Management website, http://ipm.ucanr.edu.
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There was a significant outbreak of the pest in Rhode Island and in large sections of eastern Connecticut starting in 2015 and even larger areas of Connecticut were defoliated last year.
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So why would any town want to honor such a pest with an expensive statue, let alone call it a herald of prosperity?
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Because tobacco is often a monocrop -- grown without being rotated with other crops -- the plants and the soil are weak in natural defenses and require larger amounts of chemicals for growth and protection from pests.
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Previous work to fight insect pests by stopping reproduction has used radiation to sterilize males, which are released in large numbers so wild females breed with them but produce no offspring.
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Previous work to fight insect pests by stopping reproduction has used radiation to sterilize males, which are released in large numbers so wild females breed with them but produce no offspring.
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Few pests visit angelonias and none causes serious harm.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pest'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of pest
Middle French peste, from Latin pestis
PEST Defined for English Language Learners
pest
playDefinition of pest for English Language Learners
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: an animal or insect that causes problems for people especially by damaging crops
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: a person who bothers or annoys other people
PEST Defined for Kids
pest
playDefinition of pest for Students
1 : nuisance … Kirsti was such a pest, always butting in. — Lois Lowry, Number the Stars
2 : a plant or animal that is harmful to humans or property
3 : pestilence
Medical Dictionary
Learn More about pest
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See words that rhyme with pest Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for pest Spanish Central: Translation of pest Nglish: Translation of pest for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of pest for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about pest
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