Adjacent Words

Pest definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PEST, n. [L. pestis; Heb. to be fetid.]
1. Plague; pestilence; a fatal epidemic disease.
Let fierce Achilles
The god propitiate, and the pest assuage.
2. Any thing very noxious, mischievous or destructive. The tale bearer, the gambler,the libertine, the drunkard, are pests to society.
Of all virtues justice is the best;
Valor without it is a common pest.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
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 [syn: plague, pestilence, pest, pestis]
2: any epidemic disease with a high death rate [syn: plague, pestilence, pest]
3: a persistently annoying person [syn: pest, blighter, cuss, pesterer, gadfly]
4: any unwanted and destructive insect or other animal that attacks food or crops or livestock etc.; "he sprayed the garden to get rid of pests"; "many pests have developed resistance to the common pesticides"

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle French peste, from Latin pestis Date: 1513 1. an epidemic disease associated with high mortality; specifically plague 2. something resembling a pest in destructiveness; especially a plant or animal detrimental to humans or human concerns (as agriculture or livestock production) 3. one that pesters or annoys ; nuisance • pesty adjective

Britannica Concise

Any organism, usually an animal, judged as a threat to humans. Most pests either compete with humans for natural resources or transmit disease to humans, their crops, or their livestock. Invertebrate pests include some protozoans, flatworms, nematodes, mollusks, arachnids, and especially insects. Mammals and birds can also be pests. Human activities, such as monocultural farming practices, use of broad-spectrum pesticides, and introduction of exotic species, often result in the proliferation of pest species. Certain fungi, bacteria, and viruses are also considered pests. Plant pests are usually called weeds.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a troublesome or annoying person or thing; a nuisance. 2 a destructive animal, esp. an insect which attacks crops, livestock, etc. 3 archaic a pestilence; a plague. Phrases and idioms: pest-house hist. a hospital for sufferers from the plague etc. Etymology: F peste or L pestis plague

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pest Pest, n. [L. pestis: cf. F. peste.] 1. A fatal epidemic disease; a pestilence; specif., the plague. England's sufferings by that scourge, the pest. --Cowper. 2. Anything which resembles a pest; one who, or that which, is troublesome, noxious, mischievous, or destructive; a nuisance. ``A pest and public enemy.'' --South.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(pests) 1. Pests are insects or small animals which damage crops or food supplies. ...crops which are resistant to some of the major insect pests and diseases... ...new and innovative methods of pest control. N-COUNT 2. You can describe someone, especially a child, as a pest if they keep bothering you. (INFORMAL) He climbed on the table, pulled my hair, and was generally a pest. = nuisance N-COUNT [disapproval]

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Plague, pestilence, infection, fatal epidemic, infectious disease. 2. Bane, scourge, curse, infliction, nuisance, great annoyance, plague.

Moby Thesaurus

affliction, aggravation, ambulatory plague, annoyance, annoyer, bad news, badgerer, bane, bedevilment, besetment, black death, black plague, blast, blight, bore, bother, botheration, bothersomeness, bubonic plague, bugbear, bully, burden, buttonholer, calamity, cancer, canker, cellulocutaneous plague, crashing bore, crushing burden, curse, death, defervescing plague, destruction, devilment, difficulty, disease, dogging, downer, drag, drip, dry rot, dryasdust, dusty, epidemic, epiphytotic, epizootic, evil, exasperation, flat tire, frightful bore, fungus, gadfly, glandular plague, grievance, harasser, harassment, harm, harrier, harrying, headache, heckler, hemorrhagic plague, hounding, humdrum, infliction, irritant, larval plague, mildew, mold, molestation, moth, moth and rust, murrain, must, nag, nemesis, nudnik, nudzh, nuisance, open wound, pandemia, pandemic, persecution, persecutor, pester, pesterer, pesthole, pestilence, pill, plague, plague spot, plaguer, pneumonic plague, premonitory plague, problem, proser, rot, running sore, rust, sadist, scourge, septicemic plague, siderating plague, smut, tease, teaser, thorn, torment, tormentor, trial, trouble, tuberculosis, twaddler, vexation, vexatiousness, visitation, wet blanket, white plague, woe, worm, worriment, worry