herbicide
/ˈhɜːbɪsaɪd/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈɜːrbɪsaɪd/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈ(h)ər-bə-ˌsīd/ (ame, mw)
herbicide — noun
- herbicidesingular
- herbicidesplural
1. a chemical substance applied by farmers or gardeners to kill weeds and other wil
a chemical substance applied by farmers or gardeners to kill weeds and other wild plants that harm the growth of crops
Élise applied herbicide to her vegetable patch to keep the weeds from spreading.
collocation: apply herbicide
Before planting corn, the farmers sprayed herbicide over the entire field.
Nikhil read the safety instructions on the herbicide label before using it.
Some cities have stopped using herbicides in parks because of health worries.
Yan mixed the herbicide with water and sprayed it on the garden lawn.
- weedkiller
less formal, everyday term common in gardening contexts; herbicide is the technical or formal equivalent
- defoliant
narrower: a chemical that causes leaves to fall off, not necessarily killing the whole plant
用法筆記
Can be used as uncountable (e.g. 'the field was treated with herbicide') or countable (e.g. 'different herbicides control different weeds'). Like other -cide words (pesticide, insecticide), it is formed from Latin herba ('plant') + -cide ('killer').