Stinkbug

noun

noun ·2 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Any of several insects, usually shield-shaped, possessing a gland that produces a foul-smelling liquid, usually containing aldehydes, which they use to discourage predators.
  2. 2
    Any of various insects of the order Hemiptera (the "true bugs"), in the suborder Heteroptera, principally in the superfamily Pentatomoidea or Coreoidea.

    "Every few years when Udonga montana, a bamboo-feeding stink bug, erupts in massive swarms, the people of the Mizo community in northern India don’t reach for pesticides. Instead, they look for baskets."

  3. 3
    A pinacate beetle or stink beetle (genus Eleodes) that releases a pungent odor when threatened. Southwestern, US

Synonyms

All synonyms
chust buginsectpinacate beetleshield bugshield bugshieldbug

Example

More examples

"Every few years when Udonga montana, a bamboo-feeding stink bug, erupts in massive swarms, the people of the Mizo community in northern India don’t reach for pesticides. Instead, they look for baskets."

Etymology

From stink + bug.

Related phrases

brown marmorated stink bugman-faced stinkbugsouthern green stink bugtwice-stabbed stink bugpinacate beetletrue bug

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