noun
"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-
A pesticide used to kill insects. Chlordane and DDT are insecticides.
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Compare fungicide herbicide rodenticide
Other Word Forms
- insecticidal adjective
- noninsecticidal adjective
Etymology
Origin of insecticide
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.
Small farmers like Nkelane rarely have the means to buy tools or the chemical fertilisers and insecticides they deem necessary to improve their soil.
From Barron's
The findings appear to confirm the theory that the Bocek family died after being exposed to the toxic insecticide as a result of a pest control treatment used by the hotel they were staying in.
From Barron's
Scientists believe that the species has been threatened by habitat degradation, lead poisoning from lead ammunition, and the synthetic insecticide DDT, which was banned in the United States in 1972.
From New York Times
The insecticide made its way into the food chain and caused eggshells to become frail and brittle.
From Los Angeles Times
In the 1980s, pest control companies created baits that take advantage of roaches’ penchant for sweets, combining sugar with insecticides to lure cockroaches to their doom.
From Science Magazine
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.
