vermin
Americannoun
plural
vermin-
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.
noun
-
(functioning as plural) small animals collectively, esp insects and rodents, that are troublesome to man, domestic animals, etc
-
an unpleasant, obnoxious, or dangerous person
Etymology
Origin of vermin
1300–50; Middle English vermyne < Anglo-French, Middle French vermin, vermine < Vulgar Latin *verminum, *vermina, based on Latin vermin-; verminate
Compare meaning
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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.
Of all the vermin on this place, J.W. had to take out after a porcupine.
From Literature
David, 63, said the last few years of dealing with the vermin and fly-tipping had taken a toll on his mental health.
From BBC
Franz Kafka’s novella “The Metamorphosis” asks: What if, overnight, you became “a horrible vermin”—a creature among the most repellent ever to crawl the earth?
The burst of fire came again, and a tiny voice roared, “Get back, vermin! That is my biographer!”
From Literature
"There are vermin in the kitchen and in beds. It is overcrowded, it's even more overcrowding now that these protests have gone on in Tehran," he said.
From BBC
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.
