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firebrat

American

[fahyuhr-brat] / ˈfaɪərˌbræt /

noun

a bristletail, Thermobia domestica, that lives in areas around furnaces, boilers, steampipes, etc.

firebrat British

/ ˈfaɪəˌbræt /

noun

a small primitive wingless insect, Thermobia domestica , that occurs in warm buildings, feeding on starchy food scraps, fabric, etc: order Thysanura (bristletails)

"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 firebrat

First recorded in 1890–95; fire + brat

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