attractant

American

[uh-trak-tuhnt] / əˈtræk tənt /

noun

an attracting agent or substance; lure.

the sex attractant of the cockroach;
a synthetic attractant used to bait insect traps.

attractant British

/ əˈtræktənt /

noun

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

"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

Etymology

Origin of attractant

First recorded in 1810–15; attract + -ant

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.

See Examples For:

attractant

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 ● Jan. 23, 2026

Using an attractant like pinene eliminates the need to hunt for the termites.

From Science Daily ● May 31, 2024

The trawl-caught halibut appear to be an attractant to the killer whales because they are designated as a prohibited species and must be discarded after they are brought on board.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 24, 2023

“Chemo” stands for “chemoattractant”—it’s the attractant for white blood cells.

From Scientific American ● Jun. 21, 2023

In what might be termed an experiment in psychological warfare, the attractant is combined with a granular material and distributed by planes.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023