locust

noun

lo·​cust ˈlō-kəst 

1

: short-horned grasshopper

especially : a migratory grasshopper often traveling in vast swarms and stripping the areas passed of all vegetation

2

: cicada

3

a

: any of various leguminous trees: such as

(1)

: carob sense 1

(2)

: black locust

(3)

: honey locust

b

: the wood of a locust tree

Examples of locust in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In political cartoons from the turn of the 20th century, Eastern European and Jewish immigrants were depicted as rats, while Chinese immigrants were portrayed as a horde of grasshoppers – echoing imagery from Revelation, where locusts with human faces swarm the Earth. —Yii-Jan Lin, The Conversation, 23 Oct. 2024

The finding, published in September in the journal Ecology, could contribute to efforts to reduce the use of pesticides while trying to protect agricultural crops from locusts. —Gennaro Tomma, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2024

Otherwise, butterfly larvae would be like locusts, like a plague. —Outside Online, 9 Oct. 2024

The night sky is packed with numbers, all being fed into a piece of furniture like a flickering cabinet holding the energy of a locust swarm, stripping Somalia bare in half an hour. —Tomas Tranströmer, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French locuste, from Latin locusta

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing locust

• black locust
• desert locust
• honey locust
• locust bean
• seventeen-year locust

Kids Definition

locust

noun

lo·​cust ˈlō-kəst 

1

a

: short-horned grasshopper

especially : a grasshopper that often migrates in vast swarms and eats up the plants in its course

b

: cicada

2

a

: any of various trees of the legume family with hard wood

b

: the wood of a locust