Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for insecticide. Search instead for insecticidal.
Synonyms

insecticide

American  
[in-sek-tuh-sahyd] / ɪnˈsɛk təˌsaɪd /

noun

  1. a substance or preparation used for killing insects.

  2. the act of killing insects.

insecticide British  
/ ɪnˈsɛktɪˌsaɪd /

noun

  1. a substance used to destroy insect pests

"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
insecticide Scientific  
/ ĭn-sĕk′tĭ-sīd′ /

  1. A pesticide used to kill insects. Chlordane and DDT are insecticides.

  2. Compare fungicide herbicide rodenticide

Other Word Forms

  • insecticidal adjective
  • noninsecticidal adjective

Etymology

Origin of insecticide

First recorded in 1860–65; insect + -i- + -cide

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.