cockroach
Americannoun
-
cockroaches
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cockroach
1615–25; < Spanish cucaracha, of uncertain origin, assimilated by folk etymology to cock 1, roach 2
Explanation
A cockroach is a large insect that's a familiar urban pest. If you've got cockroaches in your apartment, you'll see them scatter when you flip on the light in your kitchen at night. Cockroaches have been around for hundreds of millions of years, and experts guess they might outlive humans. These hardy insects have adapted to so many threats over time that they're nearly indestructible today. For example, radiation that would kill you won't harm a cockroach. It's almost impossible to drown them (they can live for hours without oxygen), and they're immune to most of the poisons people use on them. Cockroach comes from the Spanish cucaracha, "beetle."
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:
Scientists studying cockroach milk and nose blowing are winners of Ig Nobel prizes.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026
India's youth-led "cockroach" movement, whose nationwide protests forced the resignation of the education minister, urged authorities on Monday to release all detained demonstrators.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Thousands of people have taken to the streets in the Indian capital Delhi as part of the cockroach protests, calling for educational reforms and the resignation of a government minister.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
"You're looking at almost 2,000 people surging in, 111 dogs, medical teams as well. We go in with these micro drones, they call them cockroach drones, that help us find people in the buildings."
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
But she didn’t want Aunty Ifeka, or Arize, or even the neighbor to know that the smoke irritated her eyes and throat or that the sight of the cockroach eggs nauseated her.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Then, on 16 May, Dipke wrote a post on X that would change his life: "What if all cockroaches come together?"
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
"We must have hoovered up hundreds of thousands of cockroaches with specialist equipment and then treated it."
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
The CJP, which has millions of followers on social media, emerged in May initially as a satirical response to Chief Justice Surya Kant reportedly likening young people to "cockroaches" and "parasites" during a court hearing.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Never mind the rats and cockroaches — it’s the churn.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
My mother, who makes jam with dried grapefruit peel and then puts in cinnamon bark that I always think is cockroaches in the jam.
From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
