PEST

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does pest mean? 

• PEST (noun)
  The noun PEST has 4 senses:

1. a serious (sometimes fatal) infection of rodents caused by Yersinia pestis and accidentally transmitted to humans by the bite of a flea that has bitten an infected animal

2. any epidemic disease with a high death rate

3. a persistently annoying person

4. any unwanted and destructive insect or other animal that attacks food or crops or livestock etc.

  Familiarity information: PEST used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PEST (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A serious (sometimes fatal) infection of rodents caused by Yersinia pestis and accidentally transmitted to humans by the bite of a flea that has bitten an infected animal

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

pest; pestilence; pestis; plague

Hypernyms ("pest" is a kind of...):

epidemic disease (any infectious disease that develops and spreads rapidly to many people)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pest"):

bubonic plague; glandular plague; pestis bubonica (the most common form of the plague in humans; characterized by chills, prostration, delirium and the formation of buboes in the armpits and groin; does not spread from person to person)

plague pneumonia; pneumonic plague; pulmonic plague (a rapidly progressive and frequently fatal form of the plague that can spread through the air from person to person; characterized by lung involvement with chill, bloody expectoration and high fever)

septicemic plague (an especially dangerous and generally fatal form of the plague in which infecting organisms invade the bloodstream; does not spread from person to person)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any epidemic disease with a high death rate

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

pest; pestilence; plague

Hypernyms ("pest" is a kind of...):

epidemic disease (any infectious disease that develops and spreads rapidly to many people)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A persistently annoying person

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

blighter; cuss; gadfly; pest; pesterer

Hypernyms ("pest" is a kind of...):

persecutor; tormenter; tormentor (someone who torments)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pest"):

nudnick; nudnik ((Yiddish) someone who is a boring pest)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Any unwanted and destructive insect or other animal that attacks food or crops or livestock etc.

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Context example:

many pests have developed resistance to the common pesticides

Hypernyms ("pest" is a kind of...):

animal; animate being; beast; brute; creature; fauna (a living organism characterized by voluntary movement)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pest"):

vermin (any of various small animals or insects that are pests; e.g. cockroaches or rats)

 Context examples 

As well as fighting disease and injury in humans, scientists could harness this technique to control plant cells and reverse environmental and agricultural issues, making plants more resilient to disease and pests.

(Cells Programmed Like Computers to Fight Disease, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Increasing native predatory birds in agricultural areas can control insect pests that damage crops, and potentially reduce pesticide use.

(American kestrels, most common predatory birds in U.S., can reduce need for pesticide use, National Science Foundation)

The findings show that combining crop rotation, using virus-free seed, removing plants showing disease symptoms and controlling insect pests is the best way to control MLN.

(Researchers model ways to control deadly maize disease, SciDev.Net)

The compounds have long been recognized as the plants’ defense against pests.

(Is a milder mustard on the way?, National Science Foundation)

A poisonous chemical used to kill weeds and pests.

(Arsenic, NCI Dictionary)

Amphibians are also important for the control of agricultural pests.

(Deadly fungal disease ‘caused greatest biodiversity loss ever recorded’, SciDev.Net)

Any substance that is used to kill insects and other pests.

(Pesticide, NCI Dictionary)

But the bushes round were full of the horrible pests, and it was clear that we must shift our camp.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Natural predators of common agricultural pests can save farmers money spent on insecticides while being friendly to health and environment, a study carried out in the cotton fields of China suggests.

(Study estimates true value of ladybird as biocontrol, SciDev.Net)

"Honey bees are strongly affected by the quality of their environment, including flower diversity, contaminants and pests....Honey bee health is a community matter."

(Study Finds Mixed News About Bee Populations, VOA)