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
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.
One is the Jewish son of an exterminator who rose to Harvard; the other the cerebral product of a striving Black middle class.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 27, 2025
The department also said that its own inspection this week did not reveal any black worms, and that the jail maintains a contract with an exterminator.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2024
While the war on rats has no end in sight, the exterminator Edwards said we can learn a lot from their resilience.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 13, 2024
"I've got an exterminator coming in tomorrow to do another set of sprays," he told the BBC on Friday.
From BBC • Oct. 7, 2023
“My lawyer tells me that the exterminator is required by law to either post a guard or to arrange for guards to patrol around the houses that are tented.”
From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor
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.
