aphid
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of aphid
First recorded in 1880–85; back formation from aphides, plural of aphis
Explanation
An aphid is a bug that's considered a pest by many gardeners. Aphids like to eat a variety of plants, including roses, lettuce, peaches, and grapes. Aphids feed by sucking sap or liquid from a plant, and they can be quite destructive to a farmer's crop or a gardener's flower bed, because they reproduce quickly and efficiently. Several kinds of birds and spiders prey on aphids, and farmers use both chemical and biological insecticides to control them. The word aphid comes from the Modern Latin aphis, from 1758, although its origin isn't known.
Vocabulary lists containing aphid
Amazing Animals, List 1
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Amazing Animals, A-Z
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The End of the Wild
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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.
“When an aphid nibbles on a leaf, the volatile release attracts ladybirds in a very simplistic sense,” says Stuart Dixon, co-founder of the early-stage company.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
"We had a problem with aphids last year, we've had a mild winter which traditionally might affect the aphid populations and then they do like warm weather."
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
And one of the most abundant milkweed-visiting aphids, the nonnative oleander aphid, is host-specific, meaning it doesn’t eat other plants.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 8, 2023
The supposed discovery of an aphid in the motel bed sends these two lonely people into a paranoid frenzy that Friedkin transforms into an alternate reality.
From New York Times ● Aug. 7, 2023
She bent and flicked away a green aphid that had perched on her dress before she walked away.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
