Pest
noun
A creature that is unwanted because it causes damage or disease.
She treats her little brother like a pest.
Often appears as...
- insect pest
- pest control
noun
A person who bothers or annoys others.
He's such a pest – he won't leave me alone.
Often appears as...
- you're a pest
- stop being a pest
noun
A harmful chemical substance used to kill pests.
The farmer sprayed the crop with a pest to kill the insects.
Often appears as...
- apply the pest
- pest resistance
Usage tips
Technical
noun
A creature that is unwanted because it causes damage or disease.
She treats her little brother like a pest.
Often appears as...
- insect pest
- pest control
noun
A person who bothers or annoys others.
He's such a pest – he won't leave me alone.
Often appears as...
- you're a pest
- stop being a pest
noun
A harmful chemical substance used to kill pests.
The farmer sprayed the crop with a pest to kill the insects.
Often appears as...
- apply the pest
- pest resistance
Usage tips
Technical
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Tone
The word 'pest' suggests something harmful and unwanted, often invoking a feeling of annoyance or disgust.
After the floods, our village struggled with a rodent pest.
Pro Tip 2/3Common Contexts
Usually, 'pest' is used in relation to agriculture, gardening, or household contexts where it causes problems.
Gardeners often share tips on natural remedies to keep pest numbers down.
Pro Tip 3/3Metaphorical Use
'Pest' can be used metaphorically to describe anything seen as annoyingly persistent or invasive.
Pop-up ads are a real pest on some websites.
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Tone
The word 'pest' suggests something harmful and unwanted, often invoking a feeling of annoyance or disgust.
After the floods, our village struggled with a rodent pest.
Pro Tip 2/3Common Contexts
Usually, 'pest' is used in relation to agriculture, gardening, or household contexts where it causes problems.
Gardeners often share tips on natural remedies to keep pest numbers down.
Pro Tip 3/3Metaphorical Use
'Pest' can be used metaphorically to describe anything seen as annoyingly persistent or invasive.
Pop-up ads are a real pest on some websites.
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Tone
The word 'pest' suggests something harmful and unwanted, often invoking a feeling of annoyance or disgust.
After the floods, our village struggled with a rodent pest.
Pro Tip 2/3Common Contexts
Usually, 'pest' is used in relation to agriculture, gardening, or household contexts where it causes problems.
Gardeners often share tips on natural remedies to keep pest numbers down.
Pro Tip 3/3Metaphorical Use
'Pest' can be used metaphorically to describe anything seen as annoyingly persistent or invasive.
Pop-up ads are a real pest on some websites.
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Video examples
The truth about bats -...
of free pest control for farmers, which benefits everyone who eats the foods that they grow. Fruit bats, also called megabats because of their large size, are important for the role they play in plant pollination. By traveling between flowers while feeding on nectar and fruits,
Video examples
Do we really need...
They've become an essential part of our food system. As populations have grown, monoculture, single crop farming, has helped us feed people efficiently. But it's also left our food vulnerable to extensive attack by pests. In turn, we've become more dependent on pesticides.
Video examples
The loathsome, lethal...
What's the worst bug on the planet? You might vote for the horsefly or perhaps the wasp, but for many people, the worst offender is by far the mosquito. The buzzing, the biting, the itching, the mosquito is one of the most commonly detested pests in the world.
Video examples
Andy Ruben: Making...
previously wasted now being reused in the production process other breakthroughs are less obvious like integrated pest management advanced irrigation techniques but the point is they had the courage to get naked and they've allowed thousands of people and
Video examples
Feedback loops: How...
Feedback processes might seem counterintuitive because many of us are used to more predictable linear scenarios of cause and effect. For instance, it seems simple enough that spraying pesticides would help plants grow by killing pest insects,
Video examples
Pamela Ronald: The case...
sometimes twice a day, when pest pressure is high. But we know that some insecticides are very harmful to human health, especially when farmers and their families cannot afford proper protection, like these children.
Video examples
The amazing ways plants...
to warn would-be predators. Thorns, spines, and prickles discourage bigger herbivores. To deal with smaller pests, some plants' leaves have sharp hair-like structures called trichomes.
Video examples
Cockroach Infestation PIPE...
decaying animals and plants and of the four thousand roach species only one percent are considered pests any way you look at it it's their world my friend you only live in it
Video examples
Killer Ant Swarm...
pests disturbed by digging are soon dispatched by hundreds of razor sharp jaws the ants make a clean sweep capturing up to one hundred thousand insects in a single raid
Video examples
5 Reasons Ants Are...
they'll eat any pests and by tying these strings between mango trees mr boonchu helps the ants get to new foraging grounds
Video examples
The truth about bats -...
of free pest control for farmers, which benefits everyone who eats the foods that they grow. Fruit bats, also called megabats because of their large size, are important for the role they play in plant pollination. By traveling between flowers while feeding on nectar and fruits,
Video examples
Do we really need...
They've become an essential part of our food system. As populations have grown, monoculture, single crop farming, has helped us feed people efficiently. But it's also left our food vulnerable to extensive attack by pests. In turn, we've become more dependent on pesticides.
Video examples
The loathsome, lethal...
What's the worst bug on the planet? You might vote for the horsefly or perhaps the wasp, but for many people, the worst offender is by far the mosquito. The buzzing, the biting, the itching, the mosquito is one of the most commonly detested pests in the world.
Video examples
Andy Ruben: Making...
previously wasted now being reused in the production process other breakthroughs are less obvious like integrated pest management advanced irrigation techniques but the point is they had the courage to get naked and they've allowed thousands of people and
Video examples
Feedback loops: How...
Feedback processes might seem counterintuitive because many of us are used to more predictable linear scenarios of cause and effect. For instance, it seems simple enough that spraying pesticides would help plants grow by killing pest insects,
Video examples
Pamela Ronald: The case...
sometimes twice a day, when pest pressure is high. But we know that some insecticides are very harmful to human health, especially when farmers and their families cannot afford proper protection, like these children.
Video examples
The amazing ways plants...
to warn would-be predators. Thorns, spines, and prickles discourage bigger herbivores. To deal with smaller pests, some plants' leaves have sharp hair-like structures called trichomes.
Video examples
Cockroach Infestation PIPE...
decaying animals and plants and of the four thousand roach species only one percent are considered pests any way you look at it it's their world my friend you only live in it
Video examples
Killer Ant Swarm...
pests disturbed by digging are soon dispatched by hundreds of razor sharp jaws the ants make a clean sweep capturing up to one hundred thousand insects in a single raid
Video examples
5 Reasons Ants Are...
they'll eat any pests and by tying these strings between mango trees mr boonchu helps the ants get to new foraging grounds
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Lynda Barry
American Cartoonist
I tried to be like the richer kids as much as I could because I wanted to live on their streets, at least hang out on their streets and eat their amazing food and walk barefoot on their shag carpets. I became something of a pest in that way, and in general, other people's parents didn't like me.
Quote examples
Garry Marshall
American Actor
Some journalists are pestier than others, so I find out where the pests are. I am careful with my actors and actresses. I come back and tell them, 'Watch out for this one or that one.' People are surprised I do that. But I watch out for them even after the movie is over.
Quote examples
Edward Albert
American Actor
I was getting bored and, I think, being a real pest. I remember Brando coming and sitting on the bed and cutting out the most exquisite paper fish, with detailed scales and fins. Then he took a hotel pen and a piece of string and made a fishing pole.
Quote examples
Woody Harrelson
American Actor
Pesticides came about after the first world war. Some brainy petrochemical money maker said, 'Hey, that mustard gas worked great on people, maybe we could dilute it down and spray it on our crops to deal with pests.
Quote examples
Brad Marchand
Canadian Athlete
We want to be better players than we do a pest, but you have to find something to do coming into the League.
Quote examples
Helen Fisher
American Scientist
Nobody gets out of love alive. You turn into a menace or a pest when you've been rejected.
Quote examples
Jean de la Bruyere
French Philosopher
The first day one is a guest, the second a burden, and the third a pest.
Quote examples
Princess Anne
British Royalty
You are a pest, by the very nature of that camera in your hand.
Quote examples
Joe E. Lewis
American Comedian
Show me a friend in need and I'll show you a pest.
Quote examples
Bobby Heenan
American Wrestler
A friend in need is a pest.
Quote examples
Lynda Barry
American Cartoonist
I tried to be like the richer kids as much as I could because I wanted to live on their streets, at least hang out on their streets and eat their amazing food and walk barefoot on their shag carpets. I became something of a pest in that way, and in general, other people's parents didn't like me.
Quote examples
Garry Marshall
American Actor
Some journalists are pestier than others, so I find out where the pests are. I am careful with my actors and actresses. I come back and tell them, 'Watch out for this one or that one.' People are surprised I do that. But I watch out for them even after the movie is over.
Quote examples
Edward Albert
American Actor
I was getting bored and, I think, being a real pest. I remember Brando coming and sitting on the bed and cutting out the most exquisite paper fish, with detailed scales and fins. Then he took a hotel pen and a piece of string and made a fishing pole.
Quote examples
Woody Harrelson
American Actor
Pesticides came about after the first world war. Some brainy petrochemical money maker said, 'Hey, that mustard gas worked great on people, maybe we could dilute it down and spray it on our crops to deal with pests.
Quote examples
Brad Marchand
Canadian Athlete
We want to be better players than we do a pest, but you have to find something to do coming into the League.
Quote examples
Helen Fisher
American Scientist
Nobody gets out of love alive. You turn into a menace or a pest when you've been rejected.
Quote examples
Jean de la Bruyere
French Philosopher
The first day one is a guest, the second a burden, and the third a pest.
Quote examples
Princess Anne
British Royalty
You are a pest, by the very nature of that camera in your hand.
Quote examples
Joe E. Lewis
American Comedian
Show me a friend in need and I'll show you a pest.
Quote examples
Bobby Heenan
American Wrestler
A friend in need is a pest.
Example 1 of 10
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