cockroach
noun
cock·roach
| \ ˈkäk-ˌrōch
\
\
Definition of cockroach
: any of an order or suborder (Blattodea synonym Blattaria) of chiefly nocturnal insects including some that are domestic pests — compare German cockroach
Examples of cockroach in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Parting Shot The cockroach has been around in some form for about 300 million years, as the repulsive insect’s proven to be an extraordinarily resilient species. — Jeff Bailey, The Denver Post, "From Colorado wrestling champ to prison inmate, UFC star Ian Heinisch looks to make most of second chance in life," 16 Aug. 2019 The real-life American cockroach can squeeze through a crack the height of two stacked pennies and resist crushing forces up to 900 times its body weight. — Scientific American, "Fang Needles, Quantum Carpets and Tender Robot Touches: The Week's Best Science GIFs," 2 Aug. 2019 Birds were represented by Japanese quail; brown shrimp, pink shrimp and oysters were used to represent shellfish; houseflies and moths joined the cockroaches to represent insects; and guppies and minnows were used to represent fish. — Allen Kim, CNN, "NASA fed some of its precious Apollo 11 lunar samples to cockroaches and mice," 29 July 2019 The problem of cockroaches quickly developing resistance to insecticides has been a problem since the 1950s. — Brian Resnick, Vox, "One big reason you can’t get rid of cockroaches," 3 July 2019 On the other hand, cockroaches may be doing it, too. — Peter Byrne, Quanta Magazine, "In Pursuit of Quantum Biology With Birgitta Whaley," 30 July 2013 Scientists began to observe cockroaches as they were squished, trying to get a sense of how these sneaky little insects manage to squeeze through tight cracks and withstand heavy loads (like the crush of a human foot). — Kelly Mayes, Science | AAAS, "Watch a human try to crush this cockroach-inspired robot—and fail," 31 July 2019 In the study, Scharf and his fellow researchers tried three methods of controlling cockroach populations. — Jordan Culver, USA TODAY, "Researchers tried (and failed) to kill cockroaches for six months: 'We thought something was going to work'," 2 July 2019 In low-income scenarios, people have bigger problems than cockroaches or taking out their trash each day, typically. — Jordan Culver, USA TODAY, "Researchers tried (and failed) to kill cockroaches for six months: 'We thought something was going to work'," 2 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cockroach.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for cockroach
cockroach
noun
English Language Learners Definition of cockroach
: a black or brown insect that is sometimes found in people's homes
See the full definition for cockroach in the English Language Learners Dictionary
cockroach
noun
cock·roach
| \ ˈkäk-ˌrōch
\
\
Kids Definition of cockroach
: a black or brown insect that is active chiefly at night and can be a troublesome pest in homes
cockroach
noun
cock·roach
| \ ˈkäk-ˌrōch
\
\
Medical Definition of cockroach
: any of an order or suborder (Blattodea synonym Blattaria) of chiefly nocturnal insects including some that are domestic pests — see blatta, blattella, periplaneta
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