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Showing results for insecticide. Search instead for insecticides'.
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

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.

Unable to afford insecticide, Cuba has been plagued by mosquito-born diseases, overwhelming medical facilities.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026

Durnell, and the issue of whether a federal insecticide rule preempts state law.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 2, 2025

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 • Nov. 25, 2025

It is a combination of raw sewage and insecticide.

From BBC • Dec. 18, 2024

Otherwise even unsprayed crops may take up enough insecticide merely from the soil to render them unfitT for market.

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.