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corn borer

American

noun

any of several pyralid moths, as Pyrausta (ostrinia ) nubilalis European corn borer, the larvae of which bore into the stem and crown of corn and other plants.

corn borer British

noun

the larva of the pyralid moth Pyrausta nubilalis, native to S and Central Europe: in E North America a serious pest of maize

"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 corn borer

First recorded in 1915–20

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:

corn borer

In 1996, U.S. regulators approved corn that was genetically engineered to produce bug-killing proteins, accomplished by inserting a bacterium hostile to the corn borer insect into the plant genome.

From Reuters ● Sep. 27, 2017

Farmers in the U.S. have been growing Bt corn designed to slay the European corn borer for 17 years without any evidence of resistance whatsoever.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 3, 2013

MON810 produces a toxin that protects it from the European corn borer.

From Science Magazine ● May 22, 2012

Spain grew 80 percent of the biotech corn, designed to resist a pest called the corn borer, produced in Europe last year.

From New York Times ● Jul. 7, 2010

Needless to say, the results of all this work are now jeopardized as the enemies of the corn borer are killed off by the sprays.

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