white ant

Save This Word!

noun

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of white ant

First recorded in 1675–85

Words nearby white ant

whiteacre, white admiral, white alder, white alert, white alkali, white ant, white area, white as a sheet, white ash, White Australia policy, white bacon

Other definitions for white ant (2 of 2)

white-ant

[ hwahyt-ant, wahyt- ]

/ ˈʰwaɪtˌænt, ˈwaɪt- /

verb (used with object) Australian Informal.

to undermine or subvert from within.

Origin of white-ant

First recorded in 1915–20

How to use white ant in a sentence

"A white ant," he returned, taking the little hand between his own great strong ones.
The Fourth Estate, vol.1|Armando Palacio Valds
In this the animals were surrounded and forced to pass before a white-ant hill on which Burt was posted with the camera.
The Blind Lion of the Congo|Elliott Whitney
On account of the devastations which they occasion, Linnus has called the white ant the greatest plague of the Indies.
The Insect World|Louis Figuier
It suffices to be remembered that the mother-bee does not produce in a year what the female white ant can produce in a day.
The Insect World|Louis Figuier

There was greater appearance of intelligence in the termites, or white ant, than in these poor half-starved wretches.
Some Heroes of Travel|W. H. Davenport Adams

British Dictionary definitions for white ant

white ant

noun

another name for termite

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