bark beetle

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noun

any of numerous small, cylindrical beetles of the family Scolytidae that nest under the bark of hardwood trees, leaving intricate tracings on the wood.

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Also called ambrosia beetle, engraver beetle.

Origin of bark beetle

First recorded in 1860–65

Words nearby bark beetle

barium sulphate, barium thiosulfate, barium titanate, bar joist, bark, bark beetle, bark cloth, barkeeper, barkentine, barker, barkhan

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

How to use bark beetle in a sentence

Desiccated by thirst, they were whittled out by bark beetles.
How we drained California dry|Mark Arax|December 16, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Blister rust is like having the flu; the pine beetle is like fast acting leukemia.
What It Takes to Kill a Grizzly Bear|Doug Peacock|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In 2007, FWS reported that the beetle outbreak had affected only 16 percent of the whitebark pines.
What It Takes to Kill a Grizzly Bear|Doug Peacock|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Beetle was launched with a series of television commercials unlike any before them.
Nationalism on Four Wheels|Clive Irving|October 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST

A neighborhood dog had begun to bark, and they were worried about the police coming.
The Stacks: The Judas Priest Teen Suicide Trial|Ivan Solotaroff|June 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The wire is long gone, but a rusted snag remains entombed in the bark.
How the Kings of Fracking Double-Crossed Their Way to Riches|ProPublica|March 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A primitive savage makes a bow and arrow in a day: it takes him a fortnight to make a bark canoe.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
Her feet crush creeping things: there is a busy ant or blazoned beetle, with its back broken, writhing in the dust, unseen.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford
As I came near the house, the dogs began to bark, just as I discovered my horse tied to a tree.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
But strangest of all the dishes at the Tagal's feast was one prepared from a kind of beetle.
Alila, Our Little Philippine Cousin|Mary Hazelton Wade
Suddenly the spaniel leapt up with that feverish, spider-like activity of the toy species and began to bark.
Dope|Sax Rohmer

British Dictionary definitions for bark beetle

bark beetle

noun

any small beetle of the family Scolytidae, which bore tunnels in the bark and wood of trees, causing great damage. They are closely related to the weevils

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