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''vermin'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260331180822-00-⌔

vermin - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

Noun

vermin sg or pl (plural vermins)

  • Any of various common types of small insects or other animals which cause harm and annoyance. [from c. 1300]
    • ✤ The area was crawling with all sorts of vermin: fleas, lice, mice, and rats to name a few. Thus, we felt as if vermin were crawling over us.
    • ✤ * Vermin was everywhere; night and day it crawled gaily over the walls and ceiling, about our bodies, and into our very food, and, although the subject did not interest us, a naturalist would have delighted in the ever-changing varieties of insect life.*1
  • An animal that preys on game, such as a fox or a weasel.
  • An obnoxious or mean and offensive person. [from 1560s]
    • ✤ Bring these vermin to the Palace of Justice.

Etymology

From Middle English vermyn, vermyne, from Old French vermine, from Vulgar Latin ﹡verminum (“vermin”), collective noun formed from Latin vermis (“worm”). Compare vermiculate and vermivorous. See also worm.

Pronunciation

  • (General American) IPA: /ˈvɝmɪn/
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˈvɜːmɪn/
  • Audio (Southern England): 🔊
  • Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)mɪn

Printed 2026-06-28.

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Footnotes

  1. 1903, Harry de Windt, “The Great Lena Post Road”, in From Paris to New York by Land, New York, N.Y.: Frederick Warne & Co. […], published 1904, →OCLC, part I (Europe and Asia), page 27: ↩

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