carpenter ant

noun

Definition of carpenter ant

: an ant (especially genus Camponotus) that gnaws galleries especially in dead or decaying wood

Illustration of carpenter ant

Illustration of carpenter ant

Examples of carpenter ant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The termite operator in that area might be looking for wood-destroying beetles or carpenter ants. Pat Kapowich, The Mercury News, "Sponsored: Couple doesn’t want advice about vacation home shopping to turn into a family feud," 29 Aug. 2019 There are probably carpenter ants living in your tree and crawling around your kitchen. Tim Johnson, chicagotribune.com, "Carpenter ants build nests in wet, rotting wood," 3 July 2019 There have been breakthroughs in size bioengineering, but mostly in animals and often in the wrong direction, like a 2015 study that significantly increased the size of carpenter ants by modifying their DNA. Eric Spitznagel, Popular Mechanics, "Why Can’t We Shrink Our Kids Yet?," 21 June 2019 The most pervasive of these include pavement ants, Argentine ants, odorous house ants and carpenter ants. Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "How to Get Rid of Ants," 9 May 2018 The most pervasive of these include pavement ants, Argentine ants, odorous house ants and carpenter ants. Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "How to Get Rid of Ants," 9 May 2018 The most pervasive of these include pavement ants, Argentine ants, odorous house ants and carpenter ants. Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "How to Get Rid of Ants," 9 May 2018 Dead and rotting branches can serve as points of entry and sources of infection for such problems as melanose in citrus and carpenter ants and wood rot in shade trees and shrubs. Dan Gill, NOLA.com, "How to keep insects, weeds and diseases out of your South Louisiana garden," 24 May 2018 The most pervasive of these include pavement ants, Argentine ants, odorous house ants and carpenter ants. Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "How to Get Rid of Ants," 9 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'carpenter ant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

See More

First Known Use of carpenter ant

1883, in the meaning defined above

Keep scrolling for more