termite

noun

ter·​mite ˈtər-ˌmīt 

: any of numerous pale-colored soft-bodied social insects (order Isoptera) that live in colonies consisting usually of winged sexual forms, wingless sterile workers, and soldiers, feed on wood, and include some which are very destructive to wooden structures and trees

called also white ant

Examples of termite in a Sentence

The house has a lot of termite damage.

Recent Examples on the Web

Rodents and termites, though small, can cause significant damage to your property and wallet. —Amplified Content Studio, The Mercury News, 14 Jan. 2025

Barrett cited a 2021 survey of American adults, which found that fifty-two to sixty-five per cent supported the notion that insects such as honeybees, ants, and termites were capable of feeling pain. —Shayla Love, The New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2025

Wet wood is vulnerable to deterioration from fungus and insects like termites. —Kurt Kleiner, JSTOR Daily, 7 Nov. 2024

And yes, there are times when ownership just isn't in the cards, like when one would-be buyer discovered live termites during a home inspection. —Andrea Riquier, USA TODAY, 21 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin termit-, termes, alteration (probably by conformation to terere "to rub, grind, wear down") of Latin tarmit-, tarmes "woodworm," of uncertain origin

Note: Early instances of termites in English may represent the Latin word, from which termite is a later back-formation. Latin tarmes is apparently attested in only a single line of Plautus' Mostellaria, though it was familiar to Late Latin authors. The Roman lexicographer Sextus Pompeius Festus considered it a kind of flesh-eating maggot ("genus vermiculi carnem exedens"). The initial syllable suggests a relationship to terere "to rub, grind, wear down" (see trite), though -ar- must be of secondary origin, and the nature of the suffix is unclear.

First Known Use

1781, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing termite

• Formosan termite

Kids Definition

termite

noun

ter·​mite ˈtər-ˌmīt 

: any of a group of pale-colored soft-bodied social insects that feed on wood, live in colonies consisting of winged sexual forms, wingless sterile workers, and often soldiers, and that include some very destructive to wooden structures and trees

called also white ant