Dictionary.com

ambrosia beetle

Save This Word!

noun
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

Origin of ambrosia beetle

1895–1900; ambrosia in reference to the beetles' food, a coating formed by a fungus which they cultivate
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ambrosia beetle in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for ambrosia beetle

ambrosia beetle

noun
any of various small beetles of the genera Anisandrus, Xyleborus, etc, that bore tunnels into solid wood, feeding on fungi growing in the tunnels: family Scolytidae (bark beetles)
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
FEEDBACK