Armyworm

noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The larva of any of the genera Spodoptera and Mythimna of noctuid moths, which typically feed in large, destructive groups on food crops and grasses.
  2. 2
    larva of fungus gnat that feed on cereals and other grains; they march in large companies in regular order when the food is exhausted wordnet
  3. 3
    moth whose destructive larvae travel in multitudes wordnet
  4. 4
    noctuid moth larvae that travel in multitudes destroying especially grass and grain wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
army wormpseudaletia unipunctaworm

Example

More examples

"Since being spotted in Nigeria in 2016, a fast-spreading agricultural pest called Spodoptera frugiperda, or the fall armyworm, has been threatening the food security of people who live in countries across sub-Saharan Africa."

Etymology

From army + worm.

Related phrases

African armywormCaribbean armywormOriental armywormbeet armywormcommon armywormcosmopolitan armywormfall armywormfalse armywormgrasslawn armywormlawn armywormnorthern armywormsouthern armyworm

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.