weevil
Americannoun
-
Also called snout beetle. any of numerous beetles of the family Curculionidae, which have the head prolonged into a snout and which are destructive to nuts, grain, fruit, etc.
-
any of numerous related beetles.
noun
-
Also called: snout beetle. any beetle of the family Curculionidae, having an elongated snout (rostrum): they are pests, feeding on plants and plant products See also boll weevil
-
Also called: pea weevil. bean weevil. any of various beetles of the family Bruchidae (or Lariidae ), the larvae of which live in the seeds of leguminous plants
-
any of various similar or related beetles
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of weevil
before 900; Middle English wevel, Old English wifel; cognate with Old High German wibil beetle; akin to wave
Explanation
A weevil is a type of small beetle with a distinctively long snout. Because some species of weevils are famous for destroying large amounts of crops or stored grains, weevils are usually considered pests. There are thousands of weevil species, nearly all of which feed only on plants. These little insects have caused a lot of trouble over the years. In the early 1900s, cotton fields in the South became infested with nonnative boll weevils, which devour cotton buds and flowers. Over the years, weevils have cost farmers billions of dollars in lost crops — and if you've ever been horrified to find tiny bugs in your rice or flour, they were probably weevils. But many weevil species are beneficial to humans, serving as pollinators and weed control.
Vocabulary lists containing weevil
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.
See Examples For:
They had been described as moth larvae, butterfly larvae, and even weevil larvae.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 26, 2026
They noted some browning in the slender green shoots of the seedlings, and spotted a beetle-like insect — a weevil — that appeared to be responsible for the damage.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 16, 2023
In the Lone Star State, boll weevil traps with pheromones are set up around fields and along roadsides.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 7, 2022
So the migration is as much about work and the boll weevil as it is about this notion of opportunity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 20, 2022
She was probably visiting Tom now, asking him to go to school with her because she liked him better, the unnatural little weevil.
From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer
They included a number of vivid green and pinkish-orange darkling beetles from China and Laos, and four long-snouted weevils from South Africa.
From BBC ● Dec. 28, 2023
And other insects need also beware, including termites, red palm weevils, whiteflies and other agricultural nuisances.
From Salon ● Mar. 12, 2023
“It’s so important, but so hard to get at because the sands of time have obscured the changes in most of the big lineages,” such as butterflies, moths and weevils, Dr. Whiteman said.
From New York Times ● Nov. 14, 2022
The foundation trapped 3.7 million weevils in the Rio Grande Valley in 2006.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 7, 2022
Besides boll weevils, rain is just about the worst thing that can happen at harvest time.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
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.
