weevil

[ wee-vuhl ]

noun
  1. Also called snout beetle. any of numerous beetles of the family Curculionidae, which have the head prolonged into a snout and which are destructive to nuts, grain, fruit, etc.

  2. any of numerous related beetles.

Origin of weevil

1
before 900; Middle English wevel,Old English wifel; cognate with Old High German wibil beetle; akin to wave

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use weevil in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for weevil

weevil

/ (ˈwiːvɪl) /


noun
  1. Also called: snout beetle any beetle of the family Curculionidae, having an elongated snout (rostrum): they are pests, feeding on plants and plant products: See also boll weevil

  2. Also called: pea weevil, bean weevil any of various beetles of the family Bruchidae (or Lariidae), the larvae of which live in the seeds of leguminous plants

  1. any of various similar or related beetles

Origin of weevil

1
Old English wifel; related to Old High German wibil; compare Old Norse tordӯfill dungbeetle

Derived forms of weevil

  • weevily, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012