Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of infestation
1375–1425; late Middle English infestacio ( u ) n < Late Latin infestātiōn- (stem of infestātiō ). See infest, -ation
Explanation
An infestation is an invasion of insects on a place like a house or an attack by insects on a plant. If you're scared of bugs, you're not going to like learning about an infestation, which is a huge amount of insects going where they're not supposed to be. If a house is full of cockroaches or other bugs, that's an infestation. One or two bugs doesn't count: an infestation means lots of bugs are invading, and it's a huge problem. Also, when plants are attacked by lots of swarming insects, that's called an infestation or plague.
Vocabulary lists containing infestation
The Lemonade War
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for March 19–March 25, 2022
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for February 19–February 25, 2022
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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.
Also read: Your bond portfolio is facing a ‘termite’ infestation far worse than Jamie Dimon’s ‘cockroaches’
From MarketWatch • May 22, 2026
If a tree experiences heavy infestation in one year, it shifts its schedule the next spring by delaying leaf emergence by about three days.
From Science Daily • May 5, 2026
Ministers are considering restricting access to spot-on treatments and collars to prescriptions provided by vets and medical professionals only if there is an infestation of a pet's fur.
From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026
The novel opens by describing a local gnat infestation that seems to have spread to the writing, because all the words containing “nat” have been given a silent “g,” as in “extermignate” and “gnaturally.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 7, 2026
A full- grown steer may succumb to a heavy infestation in 10 days, and livestock losses in the United States have been estimated at $40,000,000 a year.
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
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
