pesticide

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)Anything, especially a synthetic substance but also any substance (e.g. sulfur), or virus, bacterium, or other organism, which kills or suppresses the activities of pests.

   ““Twelve pesticides commonly applied to citrus groves are slated for study in the project’s plots,” reports Tom S. Bellows, UC Riverside assistant entomologist. They include four acaricides (Morestan, Kelthane, Pictran, Vendex), four thripsicides (Cygon, Carzol, Orthene, Sabadilla), and four scalicides (Parathion, Supracide, Lorsban, Sevin).”

   “Too much pesticide was applied and then washed from the fields by rains and surface runoff.”

   “Pesticide and fertilizer use has been recorded since ancient times, […]”

   “Diluted neem oil can be effective as a pesticide and can control various fungal diseases, such as powdery mildew, on animals and plants.”