vermin

[vur-min]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR vermin ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural ver·min.

noxious, objectionable, or disgusting animals collectively, especially those of small size that appear commonly and are difficult to control, as flies, lice, bedbugs, cockroaches, mice, and rats.

an objectionable or obnoxious person, or such persons collectively.

animals that prey upon game, as coyotes or weasels.

Origin of vermin

1300–50; Middle English vermyne < Anglo-French, Middle French vermin, vermine < Vulgar Latin *verminum, *vermina, based on Latin vermin-; see verminate

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

Related Words for vermin

insect, rodent, ant, mosquito, flea, animal, bugs, fly, rat, snake, weasel, termite, lice, foxes, bedbug, mice, centipede

Examples from the Web for vermin

Contemporary Examples of vermin

Without the beeps and whirs of a cellphone, you can use your ears to detect crickets, mice, or other vermin in your home.
Aubrey Plaza’s Great Disconnect
Aubrey Plaza
August 15, 2014
The RIP offers a clear window into the intersection of poverty and vermin.
Crowdsourcing NYC’s War on Rats
Kevin Zawacki
June 24, 2014
“They kept the apartment filthy and they had vermin problems,” the neighbor says.
NY Couple Not Terrorists, Say Cops, Just Rich Kids With Drug Habits
Michael Daly, Lizzie Crocker
January 1, 2013
If you thought Frankenstorm would rid Gotham of its vermin, think again.
Hurricane Sandy Worsens N.Y. Rat Problem
Winston Ross
October 31, 2012
Sandy may actually help the vermin spread diseases, as a matter of fact.
Hurricane Sandy Worsens N.Y. Rat Problem
Winston Ross
October 31, 2012

Historical Examples of vermin

Did I not very particularly ask you whether there were any vermin in it?
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
These vermin are more to be feared than hangman's cord or headsman's axe.'
Micah Clarke
Arthur Conan Doyle
The world in general is under a mistake as to the nature of these vermin.
Vivian Grey
Earl of Beaconsfield, Benjamin Disraeli
He belonged to the class of humanity which you can call by no other name than that of vermin.
The Avenger
E. Phillips Oppenheim
Suddenly he thrust out an arm and appeared to crush some vermin against the wall.
L'Assommoir
Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for vermin

vermin

noun

(functioning as plural) small animals collectively, esp insects and rodents, that are troublesome to man, domestic animals, etc

plural -min an unpleasant, obnoxious, or dangerous person

Word Origin for vermin

C13: from Old French vermine, from Latin vermis a worm

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

Word Origin and History for vermin

c.1300, "noxious animals," from Anglo-French and Old French vermin, from Vulgar Latin *verminum "vermin," possibly including bothersome insects, collective noun formed from Latin vermis "worm" (see worm). Extended to "low, obnoxious people" by 1560s.

vermin in Medicine

vermin

[vûr′mĭn]

n. pl. vermin

Any of various small animals or insects, such as rats or cockroaches, that are destructive, annoying, or injurious to health.