Arboricide
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Any herbicide intended to kill trees or shrubs. countable, uncountable
"Over a large area, trees of no commercial value such as figs, especially the so-called ‘strangling’ (epiphytic) varieties, together with Cynometra, Celtis spp. and Lasiodiscus were treated with a potent arboricide containing 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D dissolved in diesel oil."
- 2 The killing of a tree. countable, uncommon, uncountable
"President Hayes spoke of the gigantic trees which he had seen in California, one of which was so large that he and seven other persons rode into the hollow of its trunk. He had heard of the crime of arboricide, and agreed with Mr. Muzzey that it deserves punishment."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"Over a large area, trees of no commercial value such as figs, especially the so-called ‘strangling’ (epiphytic) varieties, together with Cynometra, Celtis spp. and Lasiodiscus were treated with a potent arboricide containing 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D dissolved in diesel oil."
Etymology
From Latin arbor + -icide.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.