exterminate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
- exterminable adjective
- extermination noun
- exterminative adjective
- exterminator noun
- nonextermination noun
- self-extermination noun
- unexterminable adjective
- unexterminated adjective
Etymology
Origin of exterminate
1535–45; < Latin exterminātus, past participle of extermināre to extermine; -ate 1
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.
In 17th century Ireland, Robyn Goodfellowe is an apprentice hunter who follows her father when he’s called in to exterminate wolves.
From Salon
Sheinbaum evoked the Holocaust, saying “many of my relatives ... were exterminated in concentration camps.”
From Los Angeles Times
The grower reported having to exterminate between 50 and 100 rats per day.
From Los Angeles Times
There are also conflicting views of the cost of exterminating so many owls.
From Los Angeles Times
Last year, some argued that the city should officially designate lovebugs as pests — a move that would allow them to be chemically exterminated — citing the threats they posed to mental health.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
