locust

noun
lo·​cust | \ ˈlō-kəst How to pronounce locust (audio) \

Definition of locust

1 : short-horned grasshopper especially : a migratory grasshopper often traveling in vast swarms and stripping the areas passed of all vegetation
2 : cicada
3a : any of various leguminous trees: such as
(2) : black locust
(3) : honey locust
b : the wood of a locust tree

Examples of locust in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Maple and locust trees shade the front stoops, and residents wait at eight-twenty on Tuesday mornings to move their cars for the street-sweeping truck. Ian Frazier, The New Yorker, "When W. E. B. Du Bois Made a Laughingstock of a White Supremacist," 19 Aug. 2019 That leaves more opportunities for the cash-rich locusts to swarm around. The Economist, "Buy-out firms embrace Germany—and vice versa," 9 Aug. 2019

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

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First Known Use of locust

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for locust

Middle English, from Anglo-French locuste, from Latin locusta

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More Definitions for locust

locust

noun

English Language Learners Definition of locust

: a type of grasshopper that travels in very large groups and that can cause great destruction by eating crops

locust

noun
lo·​cust | \ ˈlō-kəst How to pronounce locust (audio) \

Kids Definition of locust

1 : a grasshopper that moves in huge swarms and eats up the plants in its path
2 : cicada
3 : a tree with hard wood, leaves with many leaflets, and drooping flower clusters

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