termite

noun

ter·​mite ˈtər-ˌmīt 

: any of numerous pale-colored soft-bodied social insects (order Isoptera) that live in colonies consisting usually of winged sexual forms, wingless sterile workers, and soldiers, feed on wood, and include some which are very destructive to wooden structures and trees

called also white ant

Examples of termite in a Sentence

The house has a lot of termite damage.

Recent Examples on the Web

Additionally, its digestive system is fine-tuned to extract nutrients from termites, which are rich in protein but low in fat. —Scott Travers, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2025

Carbon also goes into building bodies; some termites use their lignin-rich feces to build nests and mounds. —Katarina Zimmer, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025

Sloth bears also often have white patches on their chests, in the shape of a Y, O or U, the zoo said, and have thick hair that protects them from termite bites. —Kerry Breen, CBS News, 14 Feb. 2025

Chimpanzees use sticks to catch termites and stones to crack nuts open. —Leticia Fanucchi, The Conversation, 10 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin termit-, termes, alteration (probably by conformation to terere "to rub, grind, wear down") of Latin tarmit-, tarmes "woodworm," of uncertain origin

Note: Early instances of termites in English may represent the Latin word, from which termite is a later back-formation. Latin tarmes is apparently attested in only a single line of Plautus' Mostellaria, though it was familiar to Late Latin authors. The Roman lexicographer Sextus Pompeius Festus considered it a kind of flesh-eating maggot ("genus vermiculi carnem exedens"). The initial syllable suggests a relationship to terere "to rub, grind, wear down" (see trite), though -ar- must be of secondary origin, and the nature of the suffix is unclear.

First Known Use

1781, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing termite

• Formosan termite

Kids Definition

termite

noun

ter·​mite ˈtər-ˌmīt 

: any of a group of pale-colored soft-bodied social insects that feed on wood, live in colonies consisting of winged sexual forms, wingless sterile workers, and often soldiers, and that include some very destructive to wooden structures and trees

called also white ant