pesticide
Americannoun
noun
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A chemical used to kill harmful animals or plants. Pesticides are used especially in agriculture and around areas where humans live. Some are harmful to humans, either from direct contact or as residue on food, or are harmful to the environment because of their high toxicity, such as DDT (which is now banned in many countries). Pesticides include fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and rodenticides.
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See more at fungicide herbicide insecticide
Other Word Forms
- pesticidal adjective
Etymology
Origin of pesticide
Explanation
A pesticide is a bug-killing poison. You may have to resort to using a pesticide to battle the ants that have invaded your kitchen, even if you hate killing any creature. Pesticides are most often used to ward off insects or small animals living uninvited in a person's house, or in a garden or on a farm, when they are nibbling on plants or flowers. The Latin suffix cide means "killer," and in pesticide, it's combined with the English word pest, which means just what it sounds like — a troublesome annoyance.
Vocabulary lists containing pesticide
Earth Science - Middle School
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Earth Science: Natural Resources and the Environment
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Earth Day
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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.
Syngenta, the world’s largest pesticide supplier, estimated that it spends about $2 billion a year on research and development.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026
Other big agricultural firms in North America, like pesticide producer Corteva and fertilizer supplier Nutrien, have also had strong quarters.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
Alongside the “Dirty Dozen,” EWG named its “Clean Fifteen” choices, produce with the lowest amounts of pesticide residues.
From Salon • Mar. 26, 2026
Meanwhile, spinach held the list’s top spot for the second year in a row, containing more pesticide residues by weight than any other type of produce.
From Salon • Mar. 26, 2026
The Goodmans estimate that this has eliminated some 270,000 pounds of pesticide and 8 million pounds of petrochemical fertilizer that would otherwise have been applied to those fields.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
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.
