insects

noun

plural of insect
as in shrimp
a person of no importance or influence the magazine's editor in chief was notorious for treating staffers as insects, often not even bothering to learn their names

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of insects Multiple flying insects throughout entire food service space. — Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026 Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology and the University of Marburg studied how these bacteria produce different versions of GameXPeptides, which kill insects. — Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2026 Planting certain types of milkweed can help sustain the insects. — Anne Ewbank, Sacbee.com, 24 Oct. 2026 While pulling weeds, clean up any fallen foliage to prevent harmful insects or diseases from overwintering in your garden. — Macie Stump, Southern Living, 22 Oct. 2026 Rifkin recounted how an ordinary Saturday of shopping ended with Sierra leaving Machado, Julia and Daniela rotting in a closet and being eaten by insects. — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026 The suit alleges that the jail repeatedly fed inmates food containing mice and insects. — Liam Scott, Washington Post, 19 Oct. 2026 Many butterfly and moth species lay pupae in leaf litter, so throwing away leaves each fall may be getting rid of these beneficial insects, too. — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 18 Oct. 2026 Small mesh nets have been used before to keep insects away from crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and cabbage. — Maryna Holovnova, New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insects
  1. shrimp
  2. ciphers
  3. lightweights
  4. nobodies
  5. dwarfs
Noun
  • Pour the sauce over and gently toss with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until the shrimp and avocado are thoroughly coated.
    — Janelle Davis, CNN, 7 Feb. 2023
  • Brine shrimp are a critical food source for the aquaculture industry.
    — Evan Bush, NBC News, 21 Jan. 2023
Definition of shrimp
Noun
  • There’s that vibrancy and, on the other side of the ledger, dead boys, ciphers, unfinished or unfinishable quests.
    — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Consider a dashboard that shows applications, including keys and libraries; network traffic protocols and ciphers; hardware, such as HSMs and TPMs; and third-party dependencies, including cryptographic or software bills of materials.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
Definition of ciphers
Noun
  • Jupiter, by comparison, is as much as 35 times denser than these two lightweights.
    — Marcia Dunn, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2026
  • The card will also feature several other San Diego-area boxers, including super lightweights Daniel Morales (8-0, 5 KOs) and Angel Juan Estrada (12-1-1, 9 KOs).
    — Ivan Carter, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Apr. 2026
Definition of lightweights
Noun
  • In the trailer, the civilians are selling themselves as a new breed of nobodies.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Despite the tragicomic instability and the rotating cast of nobodies temporarily tasked with running the country, when seen in macroeconomic terms, Peru appears to be doing just fine, thank you.
    — Daniel Alarcón, New Yorker, 4 June 2026
Definition of nobodies
Noun
  • As far as fairytales go, dwarfs can be Bashful, Sleepy, Grumpy or Dopey.
    — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Watching all ten members sing at once is funny the way the seven dwarves all sleeping in their little beds next to each other is funny.
    — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of dwarfs

Browse Nearby Words

insectivores
insects
insecure
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Insects.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insects. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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