1
: short-horned grasshopper
especially
: a migratory grasshopper often traveling in vast swarms and stripping the areas passed of all vegetation
2
: cicada
3
a
: any of various leguminous trees: such as
(1)
(2)
(3)
b
: the wood of a locust tree
Examples of locust in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
When reared in crowds, female locusts were found to lay fewer but larger eggs than those raised in isolation.
—
Ian Randall, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 May 2025
Similar to how cicadas emerge all at once, locusts travel in big swarms.
—Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 15 May 2025
With sparrows no longer hunting and eating insects, crop pests such as locusts thrived, leading to crop destruction and famine.
—Elizabeth Carlen, The Conversation, 3 July 2025
This sees the locusts switch to a more yellow coloration and emit pheromones that attract each other—encouraging group movements and swarm formation.
—Ian Randall, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for locust
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Ian Randall, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 May 2025
Similar to how cicadas emerge all at once, locusts travel in big swarms.
—Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 15 May 2025
With sparrows no longer hunting and eating insects, crop pests such as locusts thrived, leading to crop destruction and famine.
—Elizabeth Carlen, The Conversation, 3 July 2025
This sees the locusts switch to a more yellow coloration and emit pheromones that attract each other—encouraging group movements and swarm formation.
—Ian Randall, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for locust
Cite this Entry
“Locust.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/locust. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
locust
noun
lo·cust
ˈlō-kəst 
1
a
: short-horned grasshopper
especially
: a grasshopper that often migrates in vast swarms and eats up the plants in its course
b
: cicada
2
a
: any of various trees of the legume family with hard wood
b
: the wood of a locust
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