Meaning & use
stink bug
Last updated
UK/ˈstɪŋk bʌɡ/
US/ˈstɪŋk bʌɡ/
Meaning
nouncountablebiology
A shield-shaped insect that gives off a strong unpleasant smell when disturbed and often damages crops.
Grammar: You can count them: one stink bug, many stink bugs.
Patterns
- a stink bug on something
A stink bug crawled across the window and left a sharp smell.
Farmers worry that stink bugs will ruin the apple harvest.
Don't crush the stink bug, or it will smell worse.
Word forms
| plural | stink bugs |
|---|
Common combinations
- brown marmorated stink bug
- The brown marmorated stink bug has spread across many states.
- stink bug infestation
- We had a stink bug infestation in the attic.
- crush a stink bug
- Never crush a stink bug indoors.
- stink bug damage
- Stink bug damage can ruin whole rows of tomatoes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- shield bug
- Shield bug is the usual British name, whereas stink bug is common in American English.
- pest
- Pest is a general word for any harmful creature; a stink bug is one specific insect.
- beetle
- Beetle is a different insect group with hard wing cases, so it is not an exact match.
Word family
Commonly confused: stink bug or stinkbug?
stink bug vs stinkbug
Stinkbug is simply a variant spelling written as one word.
Practice
When I picked up the ___, it gave off an awful smell.
Choose one answer.
A stink bug releases a bad smell when touched. The others are not known for this.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “stink bug”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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