thrips

[thrips]

noun, plural thrips.

any of several minute insects of the order Thysanoptera, that have long, narrow wings fringed with hairs and that infest and feed on a wide variety of weeds and crop plants.

Origin of thrips

1650–60; < New Latin < Greek thríps (singular) woodworm

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for thrips

Contemporary Examples of thrips

Every frozen or fresh package of spinach can contain up to 50 aphids, mites, or thrips before the FDA labels it contaminated.
Forget the Starbucks Backlash—We Should Be Eating More Bugs
Daniel Stone
April 24, 2012

Historical Examples of thrips

Of these, mealy-bug, red-spider, thrips and mildew are most troublesome.
Manual of American Grape-Growing
U. P. Hedrick
Thrips are readily controlled by means of nicotine-sulphate.
Garden Pests in New Zealand
D. Miller
Brown and blackish spots on Pears are caused by a species of Thrips.
Disease in Plants
H. Marshall Ward
They were commonly stated to be pollinated by thrips and other insects.
Cocoa and Chocolate
Arthur W. Knapp
Thrips, another small insect, is sometimes troublesome but not often and is now easily controlled by applications of nicotine.
Manual of American Grape-Growing
U. P. Hedrick

British Dictionary definitions for thrips

thrips

noun plural thrips

any of various small slender-bodied insects of the order Thysanoptera, typically having piercing mouthparts and narrow feathery wings and feeding on plant sap. Some species are serious plant pests

Word Origin for thrips

C18: via New Latin from Greek: woodworm

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