vermin
Americannoun
PLURAL
vermin-
noxious, objectionable, or disgusting animals collectively, especially those of small size that appear commonly and are difficult to control, as flies, lice, bedbugs, cockroaches, mice, and rats.
-
an objectionable or obnoxious person, or such persons collectively.
-
animals that prey upon game, as coyotes or weasels.
noun
-
(functioning as plural) small animals collectively, esp insects and rodents, that are troublesome to man, domestic animals, etc
-
an unpleasant, obnoxious, or dangerous person
Etymology
Origin of vermin
1300–50; Middle English vermyne < Anglo-French, Middle French vermin, vermine < Vulgar Latin *verminum, *vermina, based on Latin vermin-; verminate
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Bin bags on pavements are a familiar sight where Mr Frémond lives - as in many cities - their contents often strewn across the street; the result of vermin clawing them as they wait to be collected.
From BBC
Her family pays the city for their own dumpster bins to dispose of their own trash rather than leave it on the street to attract vermin or other pests, Ronquillo said.
From Los Angeles Times
County’s jails, describing filthy conditions, vermin and insect infestations, a lack of clean water and moldy and spoiled food.
From Los Angeles Times
Rodents, insects and vermin were visible at the resort, while electricity was shut off to common spaces, according to the lawsuit.
From Los Angeles Times
He inveighs against illegal immigration in terms more appropriate for a vermin infestation.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
