carpenter ant

noun

1. a black or brown ant of the genus Camponotus that nests in the wood of decaying or dead trees in which it bores tunnels for depositing its eggs.

Word History and Origins

Origin of carpenter ant¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

One kind of carpenter-ant covers its walls with a mixture of sawdust, earth, and spiders' webs.

From Project Gutenberg

Among these are the two large species of carpenter-ant before mentioned, which work in stumps or fallen timber.

From Project Gutenberg

The carpenter-ant has no moral sense, and is not amenable either to kindness or blows.

From Project Gutenberg