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.

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

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

Watching myself on that screen was like having a million ants crawl underneath my skin, and not just any ants, but the fire ant variety that liked to bite.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

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