pest
noun
an annoying or troublesome person, animal, or thing; nuisance.
pest
1 American
[pest]
/ pɛst /
Pest
2
American
[pest, pesht]
/ pɛst, pɛʃt /
noun
pest
British
/ pɛst /
noun
-
a person or thing that annoys, esp by imposing itself when it is not wanted; nuisance
-
-
any organism that damages crops, injures or irritates livestock or man, or reduces the fertility of land
-
( as modifier )
pest control
-
-
rare an epidemic disease or pestilence
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of pest
First recorded in 1545–55, pest is from the Latin word pestis plague
Explanation
A pest is something or someone that bugs you. That annoying mosquito that keeps you up at night is a pest, and so is that younger brother who wants to control the TV remote. An unwanted, bothersome person is a pest — and so is an unwanted, bothersome bug. In fact, the "destructive or harmful insect" definition came before "annoying person," following the "plague or pestilence" meaning of pest. The Latin root is pestis, "deadly contagious disease." During the Late Middle Ages, when the bubonic plague killed a third of all humans, it was commonly known as "the pest."
Vocabulary lists containing pest
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:
“California will keep moving toward pest management practices that protect health and our ecosystems.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
It could also provide enough electricity for off-grid devices requiring little power, such as sensors to detect pest damage to farmland, overflowing rivers, landslides or even burglar alarms.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
They provide so much support for our planet, as decomposers, pest controllers, food for other animals and generally for keeping our systems clean and tidy.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
He added that "good pest controllers always, always kill them in a humane manner".
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Whenever insecticides are applied only minimum dosages are used — barely enough to control the pest without avoidable harm to beneficial species.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
But there may be another reason, too, said Jim Farrar, director of the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program: State laws and local ordinances that have banned certain rodenticides could be inadvertently fueling typhoid outbreaks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
Rick Pellen from Pest UK said it was important to keep pigeon numbers controlled so they were not causing hazards, but the method of shooting was typically a "last resort".
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Banksy’s company, Pest Control Office, declined to confirm or deny Reuters’ conclusion, issuing a statement at the time saying only the artist “has decided to say nothing.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
More than one-third of pest-control businesses said their growth last year was constrained by having too few technicians, according to the National Pest Management Association.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 28, 2026
Meanwhile, the Department’s Plant Pest Control men had temporarily forgotten gypsy moths, for they had been busy launching an even more ambitious program in the South.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
The research may also support new methods for controlling destructive pests.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026
European imports, which rose in recent years when suppliers there raced to salvage logs from forests damaged by wind, fire and pests, have also declined.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
"It could be unintentional. Maybe people are trying to do some controls of pests on their crops, and that could have been maybe a source."
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
He and his team take what’s known as an integrated mosquito management approach to protect Salt Lake City residents from the incessant itch that the pests bring.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
“Pick me some fresh asparagus grass. These pests are a plague.”
From "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson
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.
