thrips

[ thrips ]

/ θrɪps /

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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.

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Origin of thrips

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

Words nearby thrips

thriller, thrilling, thrill-seeker, thrill to pieces, thrippence, thrips, thrive, thriving, thrix, thro, throat

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use thrips in a sentence

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|DAILY BEAST
No chance of thrips flourishing unsuspected in this house, nor of slugs following their horrid appetite from pot to pot unnoticed.
The Woodlands Orchids|Frederick Boyle
These little leaf-hoppers are often erroneously called thrips.
The Grapes of New York|U. P. Hedrick
Thrips are readily controlled by means of nicotine-sulphate.
Garden Pests in New Zealand|D. Miller

They are liable to the attacks of thrips and red spider, which do great mischief if not promptly destroyed.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 1|Various
Phwat wid two thrips wid th' rackets an' th' dhrag av th' wolf, 'twill not be bad.
The Promise|James B. Hendryx

British Dictionary definitions for thrips

thrips

/ (θrɪps) /

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