Pharaoh ant

American

Or Pharaoh's ant

noun

a red or yellow ant, Monomorium pharaonis, introduced from Europe into North America: a common household pest.

Pharaoh ant British

noun

a small yellowish-red ant, Monomorium pharaonis, of warm regions: accidentally introduced into many countries, infesting heated buildings

"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

Etymology

Origin of Pharaoh ant

First recorded in 1905–10

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.

Luigi Pontieri of the Centre for Social Evolution at Copenhagen University and his colleagues study the pharaoh ant, a tiny, highly successful invasive species that originated in Southeast Asia but in three centuries of piggybacking on human activity has managed to colonize the world.

From New York Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023