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squash bug

American

noun

a dark-brown bug, Anasa tristis, that sucks the sap from the leaves of squash, pumpkin, and other plants of the gourd family.

squash bug British

noun

any of various heteropterous insects of the family Coreidae , esp a North American species, Anasa tristis , which is a pest of squash, pumpkin, and related 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

Etymology

Origin of squash bug

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50

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:

squash bug

The squash bug may be destroyed by hand.

From The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming. by Shaw, Ellen Eddy

The squash bug lays its eggs on the under surface of the plant's leaves.

From The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming. by Shaw, Ellen Eddy

The squash bug naturally seeks out the squash vine.

From The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming. by Shaw, Ellen Eddy

The squash bug may be told by its brown body, which is long and slender, and by the disagreeable odour from it when killed.

From The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming. by Shaw, Ellen Eddy

The squash bug lives thru the winter as the matured winged insect.

From An Elementary Study of Insects by Haseman, Leonard

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