noun
-
A pesticide used to kill insects. Chlordane and DDT are insecticides.
-
Compare fungicide herbicide rodenticide
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of insecticide
Explanation
Insecticide is a type of chemical used to kill insects, like those that have infested a house or a farmer's crops. Words that end in -cide usually have to do with killing, such as genocide, suicide, and patricide. Another is insecticide, which is a word for a substance that kills insects and bugs. Insecticide is a type of chemical, and it often consists of a powder or gas. If your house is full of bedbugs or cockroaches, you need insecticide. Farmers sometimes use insecticides to keep insects from destroying crops. If you're a bug, insecticide is bad news.
Vocabulary lists containing insecticide
"Dr. Seuss" by Jill Foran
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Speeches by César Chávez
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"The Exterminator" by Kirsten Weir
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
A 2024 report by Kenyan food safety initiative Route to Food found a farmer in Kimana area using an insecticide that had an "active ingredient" that was "a chemical compound of cyanide".
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Infected wounds are cleaned and debrided to remove any screwworm larvae, after which the animal is treated with an approved insecticide, DeNotta said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026
The result was a major jump in effectiveness, from about 70% mortality with insecticide alone to more than 95% when pinene was added.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 20, 2026
Unable to afford insecticide, Cuba has been plagued by mosquito-born diseases, overwhelming medical facilities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
I have visions of opposing teams making enormous flyswatters and giant cans of insecticide out of papier-mache to humiliate us during half- time programs.
From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
Proponents say French sugar beet, apple and hazelnut farmers need the insecticides -- forbidden in France since 2018 and 2019, respectively -- to help them compete with their European counterparts.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
Both insecticides have been banned for outdoor agricultural use in the UK, but remain widely used in products for pets.
From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026
If trees are lightly or not-yet infested, they can be sprayed or injected with insecticides.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 10, 2026
But syrup producers do not plant, irrigate, fertilize or use insecticides on their self-sufficient forests.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 24, 2025
For some reason, snail-like mollusks seem to be almost immune to the effects of insecticides.
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.
