bollworm

American

[bohl-wurm] / ˈboʊlˌwɜrm /

noun

bollworm British

/ ˈbəʊlˌwɜːm /

noun

any of various moth caterpillars, such as Pectinophora (or Platyedra ) gossypiella ( pink bollworm ), that feed on and destroy cotton bolls

"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 bollworm

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50; boll + worm

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:

bollworm

Department of Agriculture is seeking to enlist such techniques to eradicate an invasive diamondback moth in New York, which eats vegetable crops, and a cotton-munching pink bollworm in Arizona.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 15, 2022

Mexican free-tailed bats eat cotton bollworm moths in Texas.

From New York Times ● Dec. 11, 2020

Even when you dropped the bollworm larvae into a bucket of poison, farmers said, they kept swimming.

From Reuters ● Dec. 8, 2017

The first genetically modified row crops of any kind—herbicide-resistant soybeans and cotton protected against the bollworm and other pests—were introduced only in 1995.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2016

One of the most destructive enemies of cotton is the bollworm.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

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