army ant


noun
  1. any of the chiefly tropical ants of the suborder Dorylinae that travel in vast swarms, preying mainly on other insects.

Origin of army ant

1
First recorded in 1870–75

Words Nearby army ant

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

How to use army ant in a sentence

  • He only feared one kind of ant, the army-ant, which sometimes travels in hordes of millions, eating all that it comes upon.

    The Mad Planet | Murray Leinster
  • Harmless save when interfered with—all save the army ant, that is—the whole ant tribe was formidable when aroused.

    The Mad Planet | Murray Leinster
  • What occurred was a replica of the usual army ant scene, but enacted as if viewed through the large end of an opera-glass.

    Jungle Peace | William Beebe
  • I realized at last that I was looking at an actual moving of a portion of the army ant household itself.

    Jungle Peace | William Beebe
  • It was here that I realized my good fortune and the achievement of my desires, when I first saw an army ant at rest.

    Edge of the Jungle | William Beebe

British Dictionary definitions for army ant

army ant

noun
  1. any of various mainly tropical American predatory ants of the subfamily Dorylinae, which live in temporary nests and travel in vast hordes preying on other animals: Also called: legionary ant See also driver ant

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