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

The result will be a multi-trunk tree with weak branches growing from a rotting stump that can attract pests like termites and carpenter ants. — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 2 Aug. 2026

Allen said the house needed to be gutted, the inside was deteriorating and termites were eating at the doors. — Raisa Habersham, Miami Herald, 30 July 2026

Terminix is the stronger option for termites with damage repair up to $250,000 on qualifying plans. — Jay Sparks, USA Today, 28 July 2026

In fact, some ants serve as predators, feeding on fleas, termites, caterpillars and other insects that can damage gardens or landscapes. — The San Diego Union Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 July 2026

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