malathion
noun
an organic phosphate insecticide, C 10 H 19 O 6 S 2 P, of relatively low toxicity for mammals.
malathion
American
[mal-uh-thahy-on, ‑uhn]
/ ˌmæl əˈθaɪ ɒn, ‑ən /
noun
Malathion
British
/ ˌmæləˈθaɪɒn /
noun
Etymology
Origin of malathion
First recorded in 1953
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:
They began spot-spraying with a pesticide called malathion, which was about to become a household word.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2024
In the meantime, the young people of the California Conservation Corps were the ones on the ground in the quarantine zone, stripping off fruit, hand-spraying with the malathion recipe.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2024
Health and environmental scientists are concerned about more than the direct impact of having potentially greater amounts of acephate and malathion on celery and other produce.
From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2024
Acephate and malathion belong to a class of chemicals called organophosphates, which U.S. farmers have used for decades because they efficiently kill aphids, fire ants and other pests.
From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2024
For example, one of the plasticizing agents may act even more strongly than another insecticide to make malathion more dangerous.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Malathion is used on crops such as strawberries, blueberries and asparagus.
From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2024
Malathion, chlorpyrifos and diazinon target nervous systems, making them highly effective insecticides.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2018
Let’s compare this toxicity to that of some commonly used synthetic pesticides, like the organophosphate pesticide Malathion.
From Slate ● Jan. 29, 2014
Malathion, marketed as Ovide, is effective but flammable.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 10, 2010
California's farmers argue that there is only one way the state can end the Medfly explosion: by bombarding infested areas from the air with a pesticide, Malathion.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
