armyworm

[ ahr-mee-wurm ]

noun

the larva of the noctuid moth Pseudaletia unipuncta, which advances over a region in massive numbers, suggestive of an army, destroying crops of grain and vegetables.
any moth larva that is similar to the noctuid Pseudaletia unipuncta in its habit of advancing over a region in massive numbers, suggestive of an army, destroying agricultural crops.

Origin of armyworm

An Americanism first recorded in 1735–45; army + worm

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use armyworm in a sentence

The larva of Sciăra militaris, a European two-winged fly, is also called army worm.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 2 | Various
Then possibly the army-worm comes sure enough, and cripples him.
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. 11, No. 22, January, 1873 | Various
His enemies are drought, excessive rains, the ball-worm, and the army-worm; his best friend a long picking season.
Pictures of Southern Life | William Howard Russell
His enemies are drought, excessive rains, the ball worm, and the army worm; his best friend a long picking season.
The Civil War in America | William Howard Russell
When the planter sees the army-worm in his fields, he is ready to give up his crop in despair.
Cotton, Its Progress from the Field to the Needle | Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for army worm

army worm

noun

the caterpillar of a widely distributed noctuid moth, Leucania unipuncta, which travels in vast hordes and is a serious pest of cereal crops in North America
any of various similar caterpillars

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

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