xylophagous

American

[zahy-lof-uh-guhs] / zaɪˈlɒf ə gəs /

adjective

feeding on wood, as certain insects or insect larvae.
perforating or destroying timber, as certain mollusks, crustaceans, and fungi.

xylophagous British

/ zaɪˈlɒfəɡəs /

adjective

(of certain insects, crustaceans, etc) feeding on or living within wood

"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

Etymology

Origin of xylophagous

From the Greek word xylophágos, dating back to 1835–45. See xylo-, -phagous

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.

It seemed as if Sandra had wound up exactly as she had a year ago�until the judges found that her xylophagous was acceptable.

From Time Magazine Archive

Xylophagous truly he could not be— No sickly vegetarian he!

From Project Gutenberg

Xylophagous: feeding in or upon woody tissue.

From Project Gutenberg

Adj. eatable, edible, esculent†, comestible, alimentary; cereal, cibarious†; dietetic; culinary; nutritive, nutritious; gastric; succulent; potable, potulent†; bibulous. omnivorous, carnivorous, herbivorous, granivorous, graminivorous, phytivorous; ichthyivorous; omophagic, omophagous; pantophagous, phytophagous, xylophagous.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023