locust

American  

[loh-kuhst] / ˈloʊ kəst /

noun

• locusts
  plural

1. Also called acridid, short-horned grasshopper. any of several grasshoppers of the family Acrididae, having short antennae and commonly migrating in swarms that strip the vegetation from large areas.

2. any of various cicadas, as the seventeen-year locust.

3. any of several North American trees belonging to the genus Robinia, of the legume family, especially R. pseudoacacia, having pinnate leaves and clusters of fragrant white flowers.

4. the durable wood of this tree.

5. any of various other trees, as the carob and the honey locust.

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locust British  

/ ˈləʊkəst /

noun

1. any of numerous orthopterous insects of the genera Locusta, Melanoplus, etc, such as L. migratoria, of warm and tropical regions of the Old World, which travel in vast swarms, stripping large areas of vegetation See also grasshopper Compare seventeen-year locust

2. Also called: locust tree, false acacia. a North American leguminous tree, Robinia pseudoacacia, having prickly branches, hanging clusters of white fragrant flowers, and reddish-brown seed pods

3. the yellowish durable wood of this tree

4. any of several similar trees, such as the honey locust and carob

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• locust-like
  adjective
• locustlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• locusts
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of locust

1150–1200; Middle English < Latin locusta grasshopper

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Explanation

A locust is a type of grasshopper that goes through a phase of its life when it joins an enormous group of locusts. A swarm of locusts can devastate farm crops and affect food supplies. Locusts aren't a separate species from grasshoppers — instead, locust is what scientists rename a grasshopper that's changed its habitat and behavior dramatically. Locusts arise from specific environmental conditions, usually drought followed by fast plant growth. Normally solitary grasshoppers become gregarious, banding together, and even changing their size and color. Swarms of locusts can fly long distances, landing en masse to devour vegetation. The Latin root of locust, locusta, also means "lobster."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

locust locusts

That heartless sea alludes to both a disturbing woman in his past and hard times when young, watching “the locust feed / Like tractor wrecks and cabbages rotting in a field.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

What’s also true is that 21st century markets can be affected by speculators’ attention, much as wheat crops can be affected by the attention of locust swarms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026

The Global Locust Initiative is part of the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory and focuses on the many systems that influence locust outbreaks.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 24, 2026

I also love locust blooms, but I know of only one house near me that has locust trees.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2025

In time, the locust drone of the school board gave over to the mourning of doves in the eaves.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

“It’s like if on the third day, it rains and then on the fourth day there’s locusts and like, oh my God, now the world’s ending.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

The approved list includes grasshoppers, locusts and some silkworms.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

The Dodgers had opened Pandora’s box, and out would fly a lockout, a pall of smoke over their games, and a plague of locusts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

He’ll just declare victory and steer his plague of locusts to consume something else.

From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2026

He also learned to use the stems of foxtail grass to spear grasshoppers, longheaded locusts, and dragonflies, which he roasted over a fire in late summer and autumn.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden

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Related Words

• grasshopper

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