slave ant


noun
  1. an ant taken as a larva or pupa by ants of another species and becoming a working member of the captor colony.

Origin of slave ant

1
First recorded in 1865–70

Words Nearby slave ant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use slave ant in a sentence

  • The same gentleman another day observed a slave ant venture out to the entrance to the ant-hill to enjoy the warmth of the sun.

  • Every ant in the colony seemed to be employed in this laborious occupation, yet there was not a white slave-ant among them.

British Dictionary definitions for slave ant

slave ant

noun
  1. any of various ants, esp Formica fusca, captured and forced to do the work of a colony of ants of another species (slave-making ants): See also amazon ant

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