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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

fire ant

I was sitting on a fire ant hill.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 2026

Inexperienced pest management workers might try to pour liquid insecticide on red imported fire ant nests, Taravati said, but it’s not so simple.

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

Winged fire ant queens are capable of flying several kilometres at a time but can travel much further if blown by wind currents.

From BBC ● Jan. 16, 2024

During most of the forty-odd years since its arrival in the United States the fire ant seems to have attracted little attention.

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