pest

¹ American  

[pest] / pɛst /

noun

1. an annoying or troublesome person, animal, or thing; nuisance.

   Synonyms:

   annoyance

2. an insect or other small animal that harms or destroys garden plants, trees, etc.

3. a deadly epidemic disease, especially a plague; pestilence.

   Synonyms:

   epidemic, scourge, pandemic

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Pest ² American  

[pest, pesht] / pɛst, pɛʃt /

noun

1. Budapest

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pest British  

/ pɛst /

noun

1. a person or thing that annoys, esp by imposing itself when it is not wanted; nuisance

2. 1. any organism that damages crops, injures or irritates livestock or man, or reduces the fertility of land

   2. ( as modifier )

      pest control

3. rare an epidemic disease or pestilence

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Other Word Forms

• de-pest verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of pest

First recorded in 1545–55, pest is from the Latin word pestis plague

Example Sentences

Introduced in 2013, they quickly gained popularity because they were the first oral treatments capable of controlling both pests for a month or longer.

From Science Daily

Foxes are classed as wild animals, not pests, therefore councils do not have a responsibility to remove them from private or public property.

From BBC

"Export markets demand zero tolerance on pests. Even if inspectors find a single fruit fly, the entire consignment is discarded, leading to huge losses," he says.

From BBC

She is the ultimate bruiser, a prolific trash-talker and a notorious pest.

From The Wall Street Journal

Brady, meanwhile, is 21 months younger, two inches taller—and every bit as much of a pest as his brother.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• blight
• bug
• contagion
• epidemic
• infection
• plague
• scourge
• virus