weevil

[ wee-vuhl ]

/ ˈwi vəl /

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noun

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.

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Origin of weevil

before 900; Middle English wevel,Old English wifel; cognate with Old High German wibil beetle; akin to wave

Words nearby weevil

weeping golden bell, weeping ivy, weeping willow, weepy, weever, weevil, weevily, weewee, w.e.f., weft, weft-knitted

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use weevil in a sentence

That big weevil had reached southern California and could “wipe out every palm tree in the state,” according to Yanega.
Focusing on Asian giant hornets distorts the view of invasive species|Susan Milius|July 1, 2021|Science News
We thoroughly cleaned the pantry, and yet the weevils kept coming back, until we discovered they were hiding in the pantry ceiling.
Hints From Heloise: Give your full attention on a first date|Heloise Heloise|November 9, 2020|Washington Post
And cotton crops would often fail when pests like the boll weevil tore through the fields.
Growth Stocks|The Daily Beast|October 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The sago palm weevil, a type of beetle, is eaten, roasted or raw, as a larvae in Southeast Asia.
Cicadas, Grasshoppers, Locusts, Ants Among the Tastiest Insects|Nina Strochlic|May 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Swallows in the Southern states kill the cotton-boll weevil, one of our worst insect pests.
A Civic Biology|George William Hunter
The one beetle doing by far the greatest harm in this country is the cotton-boll weevil.
A Civic Biology|George William Hunter
How did the Cerceris manage to recognize in these jewels the Weevil, the near relative of the vulgar Phynotomus?
More Hunting Wasps|J. Henri Fabre
Well, this extraordinary creature is recognized with certainty as a Weevil and stored away as such.
More Hunting Wasps|J. Henri Fabre
Among the animal parasites may be mentioned the weevil, vibrio tritici, which feeds upon the starch cells of the grain.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 392, July 7, 1883|Various

British Dictionary definitions for weevil

weevil

/ (ˈwiːvɪl) /

noun

Also called: snout beetle any beetle of the family Curculionidae, having an elongated snout (rostrum): they are pests, feeding on plants and plant productsSee 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

Derived forms of weevil

weevily, adjective

Word Origin for weevil

Old English wifel; related to Old High German wibil; compare Old Norse tordӯfill dungbeetle

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