exterminator
Americannoun
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a person or thing that exterminates.
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a person or business establishment specializing in the elimination of vermin, insects, etc., from a building, apartment, etc., especially by the controlled application of toxic chemicals.
Etymology
Origin of exterminator
From the Late Latin word exterminātor, dating back to 1605–15. See extermine, -ator
Vocabulary lists containing exterminator
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.
The second reports calling in a professional exterminator, but after a week or two the mice returned.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
He started out as an exterminator in New York City and has spent his life immersed in rats.
From BBC • Sep. 25, 2025
“Bees are still wild animals” but nothing to call an exterminator for, Durboraw said.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 14, 2024
He didn’t pursue acting full time until he was in his 40s, working for a time as an exterminator.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 24, 2023
A roar of noise—an exterminator just leaving a house, pump bellowing—overtakes them.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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.
