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tobacco budworm

American  
[tuh-bak-oh buhd-wurm] / təˈbæk oʊ ˈbʌdˌwɜrm /

noun

  1. the larva of the noctuid moth Chloridea virescens, noted especially for damaging the buds and young leaves of tobacco, but also similarly destructive to cotton, legumes, and various fruits and vegetables.

Etymology

Origin of tobacco budworm

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

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The EPA has recently approved the use of a viral insecticide for use against the cotton bollworm and tobacco budworm.

From Time Magazine Archive

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.