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

Specialized add-ons such as radon, termite or sewer scope each run an additional $100 to $300. —Ryan Brennan may 15, Charlotte Observer, 15 May 2026

Mulch is attractive to termites because of its moisture-retaining properties and its protection against temperature extremes. —Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 14 May 2026

Subterranean, drywood and dampwood, the three most common types of termites in the United States, all have reproductive castes capable of flying in swarms. —Amaris Encinas, USA Today, 14 May 2026

Industry reaction Chlorpyrifos is used to control different kinds of pests, like termites, mosquitoes and roundworms, among crops, according to the National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC) at Oregon State University. —Angelica Stabile, FOXNews.com, 23 Mar. 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