phytophagous

American

[fahy-tof-uh-guhs] / faɪˈtɒf ə gəs /

adjective

herbivorous.

phytophagous British

/ faɪˈtɒfədʒɪ, faɪˈtɒfəɡəs /

adjective

(esp of insects) feeding on plants

"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

phytophagy noun

Etymology

Origin of phytophagous

First recorded in 1820–30; phyto- + -phagous

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.

The insects of this order in their larval condition are almost all phytophagous, and are very uniform both in structure and in habits.

From Project Gutenberg

Chlamys, klā′mis, n. an ancient Greek short cloak or mantle for men: a purple cope: a genus of phytophagous beetles.

From Project Gutenberg

This group contains the phytophagous or herbivorous cetacea.

From Project Gutenberg

What can be the meaning or use of the great diversity of the external generative organs in your cases, in Bombus, and the phytophagous coleoptera?

From Project Gutenberg

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