cockroach
Americannoun
-
cockroaches
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cockroach
1615–25; < Spanish cucaracha, of uncertain origin, assimilated by folk etymology to cock 1, roach 2
Explanation
A cockroach is a large insect that's a familiar urban pest. If you've got cockroaches in your apartment, you'll see them scatter when you flip on the light in your kitchen at night. Cockroaches have been around for hundreds of millions of years, and experts guess they might outlive humans. These hardy insects have adapted to so many threats over time that they're nearly indestructible today. For example, radiation that would kill you won't harm a cockroach. It's almost impossible to drown them (they can live for hours without oxygen), and they're immune to most of the poisons people use on them. Cockroach comes from the Spanish cucaracha, "beetle."
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:
India's youth-led "cockroach" movement, whose nationwide protests forced the resignation of the education minister, urged authorities on Monday to release all detained demonstrators.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Hundreds of young people gathered for it, many of them wearing cockroach face masks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
Gautam Tamboliya, a 21-year-old student from India’s Haryana state, carried India’s national flag and wore a lapel pin with an image of a cockroach on it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
By contrast, local authorities and pest control companies in rural areas of Wales cited little to no cockroach reports when approached by BBC News.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
Then she poked me in the back, like I was a cockroach, and I hissed.
From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
The CJP, which has millions of followers on social media, emerged in May initially as a satirical response to Chief Justice Surya Kant reportedly likening young people to "cockroaches" and "parasites" during a court hearing.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
“Cool Machine” is a modern masterpiece and an ode to New York, no matter that rats skitter and cockroaches scamper underfoot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
Last month, he posted a question on X: “What if all cockroaches came together?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
Madagascar hissing cockroaches, one of the largest species in the world, are so called because they can produce a hissing sound loud enough to be heard.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
My mother, who makes jam with dried grapefruit peel and then puts in cinnamon bark that I always think is cockroaches in the jam.
From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat
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.
