driver ant

American

noun

army ant.

driver ant British

noun

any of various tropical African predatory ants of the subfamily Dorylinae, which live in temporary nests and travel in vast hordes preying on other animals See also army ant

"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 driver ant

First recorded in 1855–60

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.

Believe that, too, for driver ants are possessed, collectively, of the size and influence of a Biblical plague.

From Literature

Scorpions and centipedes are inferior in worrying power to driver ants, but they are a feature in Coast life, particularly in places—Cameroons, for example.

From Project Gutenberg

The biggest extant equivalents are the driver ants of the Dorylus genus, found in Central and East Africa, which can also grow to 5cm long.

From BBC

We got rid of the driver ants by keeping up a big fire in their cave for a week.

From Project Gutenberg

It is performed with the aid of African driver ant, a pair of surgical scissors and a pot of honey.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023