varmint
Americannoun
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Chiefly Southern and South Midland U.S.
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an objectionable or undesirable animal, usually predatory, as a coyote or bobcat.
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a despicable, obnoxious, or annoying person.
noun
Etymology
Origin of varmint
1530–40; variant of vermin (with regular outcome of Middle English ĕr before consonant ( argal 2, parson ) and parasitic t )
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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.
The smell from the outdoor shed and the home “were emitting odors associated with organic matter that are attracting varmints and black bears,” Garcia wrote.
From Los Angeles Times
The varmints here are faster, meaner and thirstier than any gunslinger you’d expect to meet in a dusty saloon.
From Seattle Times
Despite the cumbersome rubber suit, he must express a varmint’s essence through a profound nonverbal interpretation, exuding a sense of great strength while broadcasting pure emotion.
From Los Angeles Times
How did a creature despised as a pest and a varmint, whose slaughter was once cheered and officially rewarded by California, become a darling and an icon?
From Los Angeles Times
His governing philosophy is spelled out on a prominently displayed poster that shows a lifeless varmint on a stretch of asphalt.
From New York Times
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.
