termite
noun/ˈtɜːmaɪt/
/ˈtɜːrmaɪt/
- an insect that lives in organized groups, mainly in hot countries. Termites do a lot of damage by eating the wood of trees and buildings.
- a termite colony
Oxford Collocations DictionaryTermite is used before these nouns:- mound
Word Originlate 18th cent.: from late Latin termes, termit- ‘woodworm’, alteration of Latin tarmes, perhaps by association with terere ‘to rub’.Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
Check pronunciation:
termite