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# pest

«pest» in Mova's school dictionary: **an insect or animal that harms crops, food, gardens or…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a pest, pests)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A pest is an insect or animal that harms crops, food, gardens or homes, such as rats, mice, cockroaches or greenfly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pest/#m1)

2) A pest is also an annoying person, especially a child who keeps bothering you. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pest/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In science and farming pests eat crops or spread germs, and people use traps, sprays or natural enemies (like ladybirds) to control them. In stories a little brother may be called «a pest». Phrases: «pest control», «garden pests», «be a pest», «stop being a pest».

### examples

- Rabbits are a big pest for farmers in Australia. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pest/#x1)
- Slugs are pests that eat lettuces. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pest/#x2)
- Ladybirds eat aphids, which are garden pests. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pest/#x3)
- We called pest control to get rid of the mice. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pest/#x4)
- My little sister is being a pest again! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pest/#x5)
- Keep food covered so pests don't get in. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pest/#x6)
- Stop being a pest and let me finish my homework. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pest/#x7)
- The Pest Maiden arrives, and thrusts her arm in at his window. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pest/#x8)

### note

Countable: pest, pests. «Pesticide» is a chemical to kill pests; it can be poisonous, so children should never touch it. Calling someone a pest is mild and often joking, not very rude.

### In the corpora

- [Breaching means leaping out of the water; scientists think whales do it to signal, show off or knock off skin pests.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/26-whales/12/)
- [Rabbits do eat crops and young vegetables, so farmers see them as pests and fence their fields.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/141-zootopia-real-foxes-and-rabbits/16/)
- [A small bat can catch hundreds of midges in an hour, so bats are free pest control.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/229-echolocation-how-bats-see-with-sound/15/)
- [Released pets can die or become pests, and many pests around the world began as someone's unwanted pet.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/330-unusual-pets-stick-insects-giant-snails-ant-farms-and-hermit-crabs/8/)
- [Pets let go can die or become pests that harm wild animals, and rescue centres and pet shops can take unwanted pets back.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/330-unusual-pets-stick-insects-giant-snails-ant-farms-and-hermit-crabs/20/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «pest» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pest/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.