pest

pest — noun

1. a small animal or insect that harms crops, stored food, or buildings and is hard

1.nounB2
Definition

a small animal or insect that harms crops, stored food, or buildings and is hard to control.

Example

Farmers set traps after rats became a pest in the corn field.

become a pest in + place

The tomato plants were dying because a green beetle had become a pest.

common crop-damage context

Common collocations
  • crop pest
  • garden pest
  • household pest
  • control pests
  • spray for pests
  • a pest in the field
Synonyms
  • vermin

    stronger and uglier in tone; often used for rats, mice, or similar animals

  • bug

    informal and usually limited to insects, not harmful animals in general

  • nuisance

    broader word for something troublesome, not specifically crop-damaging

Grammar Patterns

a pest

pests + verb

become a pest

a pest in + place

Usage Note

Often used for animals or insects that damage crops, stored food, homes, or hotel rooms. Distinguish from sense 2, where pest refers to a person who keeps bothering others.

Common Mistakes

Rabbits ate our carrots, but they are not pests because they are not insects.
Rabbits ate our carrots, so they are pests.
a pest can be a small animal, not only an insect.
There are many pest in the rice field.
There are many pests in the rice field.
use the plural form for more than one harmful animal or insect.

2. a person, often a child, who keeps annoying other people.

2.nounB2
Definition

a person, often a child, who keeps annoying other people.

Example

Ben's little brother was a pest and kept tapping the car window.

be a pest + repeated action

At lunch, Nina's cousin became a pest by asking for her phone.

Common collocations
  • be a pest
  • little pest
  • such a pest
  • call someone a pest
Synonyms
  • nuisance

    broader and more neutral; can describe things and situations as well as people

  • pain

    informal and more impatient or negative than pest

  • bother

    lighter informal word for a small everyday annoyance

  • brat

    used only for a badly behaved child and sounds ruder

Grammar Patterns

be a pest

call someone a pest

little pest

Usage Note

Usually said about someone who annoys people again and again, not about one single mistake. Distinguish from sense 1, which names harmful animals or insects rather than people.

Common Mistakes

My little brother is a pest to me.
My little brother is a pest.
after 'be a pest', do not add 'to' before the annoyed person.
The waiter forgot one spoon, so he is a pest.
The waiter forgot one spoon, so he made a mistake.
'pest' suggests repeated annoying behaviour, not one small error.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

These words all describe annoyance, but they do not feel the same. A 'pest' is usually a person, often a child, who keeps bothering others again and again, and it can sound mildly humorous. A 'nuisance' is broader and more neutral: it can be a person, a noise, or a problem. A 'bother' is lighter and often points to a small everyday trouble. A 'pain' is also informal, but it sounds more impatient and negative than 'pest'. You might say, 'Leo is being a pest because he keeps ringing the bell,' but 'The traffic noise is a nuisance,' and 'Filling out this form is a bother.'

pest ↗nuisance ↗bother ↗pain ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • be a pest
  • become a pest
  • a real pest

Prepositions

  • a pest in [place/group]

Etymology

LatinMiddle FrenchEnglish

English took 'pest' from Middle French 'peste', which came from Latin 'pestis', a word for plague or deadly disease. The modern sense for destructive animals or insects grew from the idea of something harmful, and the later sense for an annoying person developed as a figurative extension.