- any small air-breathing arthropod of the class Insecta, having a body divided into head, thorax, and abdomen, three pairs of legs, and (in most species) two pairs of wings. Insects comprise about five sixths of all known animal species, with a total of over one million named species
- (loosely) any similar invertebrate, such as a spider, tick, or centipede
- a contemptible, loathsome, or insignificant person
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
in•sect /ˈɪnsɛkt/USA pronunciation
n.
adj. [before a noun]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- [countable]
- Insects
- a member of a class of animals that are small, air-breathing arthropods having a body divided into three parts and having two antennae, three pairs of legs, and usually two pairs of wings:insects such as beetles, ants, and flies.
- any small arthropod, such as a spider, that looks somewhat like such an animal.
- one who deserves hate or contempt;
an unimportant person.
adj. [before a noun]
- of, relating to, or used against insects:insect spray.
in•sect
(in′sekt),USA pronunciation n.
adj.
in•sec•ti•val
(in′sek tī′vəl),USA pronunciation adj.
- Insectsany animal of the class Insecta, comprising small, air-breathing arthropods having the body divided into three parts (head, thorax, and abdomen), and having three pairs of legs and usually two pairs of wings.
- Insectsany small arthropod, such as a spider, tick, or centipede, having a superficial, general similarity to the insects. Cf. arachnid.
- a contemptible or unimportant person.
adj.
- of, pertaining to, like, or used for or against insects:an insect bite; insect powder.
- Latin insectum, noun, nominal use of neuter of insectus past participle of insecāre to incise, cut (compare segment); translation of Greek éntomon insect, literally, notched or incised one; see entomo-
- 1595–1605;
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
insect /ˈɪnsɛkt/ n
'insect' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
aardwolf
- acephalous
- ant
- antlion
- areole
- aye-aye
- babbler
- bee
- beetle
- borer
- bug
- bush tucker
- butterfly
- caddisfly
- cicada
- cirrus
- citronella
- cochineal
- cockroach
- cocoon
- coxa
- cricket
- damselfly
- dipteran
- dragonfly
- dumbledore
- earwig
- eclosion
- entomo-
- ephemerid
- Fabre
- fascia
- fertilizer
- flea
- fly
- forewing
- froghopper
- gogga
- grain
- grasshopper
- gynandromorph
- hamulus
- hemipteran
- hexapod
- hymenopteran
- ichneumon fly
- imago
- insecticide
- instar
- abdomen