pest
noun
an annoying or troublesome person, animal, or thing; nuisance.
pest
1 American
[pest]
/ pɛst /
Pest
2
American
[pest, pesht]
/ pɛst, pɛʃt /
noun
pest
British
/ pɛst /
noun
-
a person or thing that annoys, esp by imposing itself when it is not wanted; nuisance
-
-
any organism that damages crops, injures or irritates livestock or man, or reduces the fertility of land
-
( as modifier )
pest control
-
-
rare an epidemic disease or pestilence
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of pest
First recorded in 1545–55, pest is from the Latin word pestis plague
Explanation
A pest is something or someone that bugs you. That annoying mosquito that keeps you up at night is a pest, and so is that younger brother who wants to control the TV remote. An unwanted, bothersome person is a pest — and so is an unwanted, bothersome bug. In fact, the "destructive or harmful insect" definition came before "annoying person," following the "plague or pestilence" meaning of pest. The Latin root is pestis, "deadly contagious disease." During the Late Middle Ages, when the bubonic plague killed a third of all humans, it was commonly known as "the pest."
Vocabulary lists containing pest
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.
See Examples For:
Boulder wants compensation for wildfires, the costs for mitigating pest infestations, reduced farm output and lower employee productivity, among other things.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
The blocked agreements affecting Joshua Tree also included support for projects to improve mapping technology, address pest infestations at Keys Ranch and bolster the archaeology program.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Spoiled vegetables rot in corners, while food counters show signs of pest infestation.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
Bats play important ecological roles as pollinators, seed dispersers and natural pest controllers.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026
They could also mean that potentially harmful organisms, formerly held in check, could escape from their natural controls and rise to pest status.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
But there may be another reason, too, said Jim Farrar, director of the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program: State laws and local ordinances that have banned certain rodenticides could be inadvertently fueling typhoid outbreaks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
Pest controllers have reported a rise in callouts to cockroach infestations in Cardiff, with one company regularly getting five or six reports a week.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
Messages left this week with Pest Control by The Wall Street Journal weren’t returned.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
More than one-third of pest-control businesses said their growth last year was constrained by having too few technicians, according to the National Pest Management Association.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 28, 2026
Meanwhile, the Department’s Plant Pest Control men had temporarily forgotten gypsy moths, for they had been busy launching an even more ambitious program in the South.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
In the past, some in the community considered wild boar and deer pests for damaging their gardens and crops, she said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
The building was storing millions of pounds of fresh and frozen food such as meat, bread and seafood that rotted after the blaze, prompting complaints, citations and lawsuits over foul odors and pests.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
And, Jurado said, “it does not erase two months of odors, pests, and disruption.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
Leaving a trail of destruction in their wake are introduced pests: fire ants, cane toads, rabbits, foxes, feral cats.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Her native taste for ducks and shorebirds had been replaced by an appetite for the pests of humankind.
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
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