termite

noun
🔊/ˈtɜːmaɪt/
🔊/ˈtɜːrmaɪt/
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  1. an insect that lives in organized groups, mainly in hot countries. Termites do a lot of damage by eating the wood of trees and buildings.白蚁
    • a termite colony白蚁群
    Topics Insects, worms, etc.c1
    Oxford Collocations DictionaryTermite is used before these nouns:
    • mound
    See full entry
    Word Originlate 18th cent.: from late Latin termes, termit- ‘woodworm’, alteration of Latin tarmes, perhaps by association with terere ‘to rub’.