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Synonyms

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
Pest 2 American  
[pest, pesht] / pɛst, pɛʃt /

noun

  1. Budapest

pest British  
/ pɛst /

noun

  1. 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

  3. rare an epidemic disease or pestilence

"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

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Residents in the San Gabriel Valley are contending with a dramatic surge in black flies, a painful little pest known for biting around the eyes and necks of people and pets.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

The pest control company’s fourth-quarter earnings missed analysts’ expectations as cooler weather and a challenging macroeconomic environment weighed on demand for its services.

From Barron's • Feb. 12, 2026

The team also found no evidence that adding nitrogen worsened other pest problems.

From Science Daily • Jan. 24, 2026

Acting under the Michigan pest control law which allows the state to spray indiscriminately without notifying or gaining permission of individual landowners, the low-lying planes began to fly over the Detroit area.

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.