cockroach

[kok-rohch]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cockroach ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

any of numerous orthopterous insects of the family Blattidae, characterized by a flattened body, rapid movements, and nocturnal habits and including several common household pests.

Nearby words

Compare American cockroach, German cockroach, oriental cockroach.

Origin of cockroach

1615–25; < Spanish cucaracha, of uncertain origin, assimilated by folk etymology to cock¹, roach²

Also called roach.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cockroach

It was also full of s--t, a coach scrambling like a cockroach.
Syracuse Coach's Boneheaded Defense of Assistant Accused of Sexual Abuse|Buzz Bissinger|November 29, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Cockroach begins with a failed suicide attempt by the protagonist.
This Week's Hot Reads|The Daily Beast|October 20, 2009|DAILY BEAST
If a man comes in to pay money, the cockroach looks glad, a smile plays around his mouth, and he acts kitteny.
Peck's Sunshine|George W. Peck
A note on the amoeba of the cockroach cultivated by Smith and Barret.
The Biotic Associations of Cockroaches|Louis M. Roth

If you dislike to touch the cockroach so much, perhaps you will look at this picture of a croton bug.
The Insect Folk|Margaret Warner Morley
In two points, however, the life-story of these flies with their aquatic larvae recalls that of the cockroach.
The Life-Story of Insects|Geo. H. Carpenter
The night after hearing this choice legend Clarence was found crouching beside me in bed for fear of the cockroach.
Chantry House|Charlotte M. Yonge

British Dictionary definitions for cockroach

cockroach

noun

any insect of the suborder Blattodea (or Blattaria), such as Blatta orientalis (oriental cockroach or black beetle): order Dictyoptera ., They have an oval flattened body with long antennae and biting mouthparts and are common household pestsSee also German cockroach, mantis

Word Origin for cockroach

C17: from Spanish cucaracha, of obscure origin

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

Word Origin and History for cockroach

cockroach

1620s, folk etymology (as if from cock + roach) of Spanish cucaracha "chafer, beetle," from cuca "kind of caterpillar." Folk etymology also holds that the first element is from caca "excrement."

A certaine India Bug, called by the Spaniards a Cacarootch, the which creeping into Chests they eat and defile with their ill-sented dung [Capt. John Smith, "Virginia," 1624].