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
Explanation
If your house becomes infested with cockroaches, mice, or even ants, you might have to exterminate them. It is certainly not a pleasant process, but often quite necessary. To exterminate means "to kill off or destroy completely." Notice that it includes the word terminate which means, “to end.” It is usually used in reference to insects or rodents, but also unfortunately in reference to people or groups of people. It is just a coincidence that this verb shares a syllable with termite — a bug that often has to be exterminated before it eats through the wood of your home.
Vocabulary lists containing exterminate
"The Devil and Tom Walker" by Washington Irving
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Persepolis
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Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life
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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 • Dec. 24, 2025
A woman who accidentally killed an 11-year-old neighbour with poisonous gas she used to exterminate bedbugs has been spared jail by a judge at the Old Bailey.
From BBC • Jul. 18, 2024
Mr. Biden will travel to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to deliver the keynote address of the Holocaust museum’s yearly event and remember the Nazi effort to exterminate the Jewish people in Europe.
From New York Times • May 1, 2024
For many in the city, it’s still easier to call firefighters to exterminate bees for free.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 14, 2023
One cannot interrupt galaxy formation, start and stop hurricanes and ice ages, experimentally exterminate grizzly bears in a few national parks, or rerun the course of dinosaur evolution.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
