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pest

[ pest ]
/ pɛst /
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noun
an annoying or troublesome person, animal, or thing; nuisance.
an insect or other small animal that harms or destroys garden plants, trees, etc.
a deadly epidemic disease, especially a plague; pestilence.
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Origin of pest

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

OTHER WORDS FROM pest

de-pest, verb (used with object)

Other definitions for pest (2 of 2)

Pest
[ pest; Hungarian pesht ]
/ pɛst; Hungarian pɛʃt /

noun
See under Budapest.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pest in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pest

pest
/ (pɛst) /

noun
a person or thing that annoys, esp by imposing itself when it is not wanted; nuisance
  1. any organism that damages crops, injures or irritates livestock or man, or reduces the fertility of land
  2. (as modifier)pest control
rare an epidemic disease or pestilence

Word Origin for pest

C16: from Latin pestis plague, of obscure origin
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
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