attractant

American  

[uh-trak-tuhnt] / əˈtræk tənt /

noun

1. an attracting agent or substance; lure.

   the sex attractant of the cockroach;

   a synthetic attractant used to bait insect traps.

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attractant British  

/ əˈtræktənt /

noun

1. a substance that attracts, esp a chemical ( sex attractant ) produced by an insect and attracting insects of the same species See also pheromone

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Etymology

Origin of attractant

First recorded in 1810–15; attract + -ant

Example Sentences

"There's clearly an attractant in the water," Pepin-Neff says, suggesting that a "perfect storm" of low salinity freshwater could have created a "biodiversity explosion".

From BBC

In cases of shark encounters, they add, the variable is not the sharks themselves, but rather the attractant that's drawing them to the area.

From BBC

"It doesn't matter if you kill all the sharks in Sydney Harbor – if there's a shark up the coast and the attractant is still in the water, then the shark's going to come in."

From BBC

Agricultural officials are working to eliminate the infestation by applying a small patch of fruit fly attractant mixed with a very small dose of an organic pesticide, Spinosad, about 8 to 10 feet off the ground on street trees, power poles, street lights and similar surfaces.

From Los Angeles Times

For years, as an early-warning alert system, the county agricultural people had been hanging Medfly traps hither and thither among our pretty, fructiferous trees — little A-frame-shaped cardboard doohickeys with a dab of fly attractant.

From Los Angeles Times