cockroach
Americannoun
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:
On Saturday, he returned to Delhi and organized the cockroach movement’s first street protest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
"I turned on the light and I could see a cockroach running, two or three were running."
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
Sumesh Geevarghese, who lives in Cardiff with his family, described having a cockroach infestation at his rented apartment as "very stressful", adding: "They started coming from everywhere."
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
Eleven establishments were closed from April 16 to 23, nine for rodent or cockroach infestations, one for insufficient hot water and one for unapproved remodeling.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2026
We used to sit on the flower boxes until the day Tito saw a cockroach with a spot of green paint on its head.
From "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros
Last month, he posted a question on X: “What if all cockroaches came together?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
Photos showed one of the seized Madagascar cockroaches was almost big enough to completely cover the palm of an adult hand.
From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026
She uses a shared toilet and shower, and has taped a foam board across the bottom of her doorway to keep out rats and cockroaches.
From Barron's ● May 28, 2026
Geevarghese, 45, said he first noticed cockroaches at his apartment when one of his neighbours moved out.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
The potential new antibiotic is found in the chemical secretions of cockroaches.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
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.
