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fire ant

American

noun

any of several omnivorous ants, as the migrant Solenopsis geminata originating in tropical and subtropical South America, having a sting that produces a burning sensation.

fire ant British

noun

any mound-building predatory ant of the genus Solenopsis , of tropical and subtropical America, that can inflict a painful sting

"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 fire ant

First recorded in 1790–1800

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

fire ant

I was sitting on a fire ant hill.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 2026

At first it might be hard to distinguish the red imported fire ant from the sugar-loving Argentine ant, but a key distinction is the red imported fire ants’ aggressive nature.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2024

Collective insect aggregations like fire ant rafts already are inspiring researchers to develop materials with stimuli-responsive mechanical properties and behaviors.

From Science Daily ● May 15, 2024

In November, local authorities reported that several new fire ant nests had spread into New South Wales from the Queensland border for the very first time - prompting a nationwide funding boost for eradication efforts.

From BBC ● Jan. 16, 2024

This direct transmission into milk had been demonstrated experimentally for heptachlor in 1955, long before the control program was undertaken, and was later reported for dieldrin, also used in the fire ant program.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

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