insect

[in-sekt]

noun

1. any animal of the class Insecta, comprising small, air-breathing arthropods having the body divided into three parts (head, thorax, and abdomen), and having three pairs of legs and usually two pairs of wings.

2. any small arthropod, such as a spider, tick, or centipede, having a superficial, general similarity to the insects.

3. a contemptible or unimportant person.

adjective

1. of, pertaining to, like, or used for or against insects.

   an insect bite; insect powder.

insect

/ ˈɪnsɛkt /

noun

1. any small air-breathing arthropod of the class Insecta, having a body divided into head, thorax, and abdomen, three pairs of legs, and (in most species) two pairs of wings. Insects comprise about five sixths of all known animal species, with a total of over one million named species

2. (loosely) any similar invertebrate, such as a spider, tick, or centipede

3. a contemptible, loathsome, or insignificant person

insect

1. Any of very numerous, mostly small arthropods of the class Insecta, having six segmented legs in the adult stage and a body divided into three parts (the head, thorax, and abdomen). The head has a pair of antennae and the thorax usually has one or two pairs of wings. Most insects undergo substantial change in form during development from the young to the adult stage. More than 800,000 species are known, most of them beetles. Other insects include flies, bees, ants, grasshoppers, butterflies, cockroaches, aphids, and silverfish.

2. See Notes at biomass bug entomology

Other Word Forms

• insectival adjective
• noninsect noun
• insectean adjective
• insect-like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of insect¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin insectum, noun use of neuter of insectus, past participle of insecāre “to incise, cut”; translation of Greek éntomon “insect,” literally, “notched or incised one”; entomo-; segment

Word History and Origins

Origin of insect¹

C17: from Latin insectum (animal that has been) cut into, insect, from insecāre, from _in- ² + secāre to cut; translation of Greek entomon insect

Example Sentences

“Out in the wild, they’re trying to build up their calories through berries and insects. But when they come across garbage in a neighborhood, that’s all the calories they need in one spot.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Dead insects are scattered along the steps in front of me.

Read more on Literature

Held captive by his wife’s temper like an insect stuck on a pin, the baron squirmed and blushed until he finally turned to Edward Ashton.

Read more on Literature

Why comparisons to insects, animals, and even vegetables are so often used to discuss matters that have only to do with humans is a question that philosophers have yet to answer.

Read more on Literature

"Whether it's that time we stepped on a nail and or got cellulitis following an insect bite or our C-section wound, or our UTI, or our STI - we all depend on them," she said.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• ant 
• aphid 
• bee 
• beetle 
• butterfly 
• cockroach 
• dragonfly 
• flea 
• fruit fly 
• gnat 
• grasshopper 
• ladybug 
• mite 
• mosquito 
• moth 
• pest 
• spider 
• termite 
• tick