Croton bug
- noun
- /ˈkroʊtən bʌg/
- US
:
Cucaracha de Croton
- The kitchen was infested with Croton bugs that scattered whenever the lights were turned on.
Examples
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Exterminators were called to deal with the persistent problem of Croton bugs in the old building.
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Many city dwellers have encountered a Croton bug hiding in their apartments.
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I found a Croton bug in the kitchen.
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The Croton bugs are invading my pantry!
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Exterminators were called to deal with the persistent problem of Croton bugs in the old building.
-
Many city dwellers have encountered a Croton bug hiding in their apartments.
-
The kitchen was infested with Croton bugs that scattered whenever the lights were turned on.
Synonyms
140
1.0
A flat brown or black insect that comes out at night and lives in kitchens and houses
A small light brown cockroach that lives in homes and is a pest
A small light brown cockroach that lives in houses
A small light brown cockroach that often lives in kitchens and bathrooms in houses
A small light-brown cockroach that lives in homes and kitchens
Surface Forms
Morphology
Croton + bug
The noun combines a place/name-like modifier "Croton" with "bug," so a learner who knows both words would understand it denotes a type/kind of insect associated with Croton. However, the modifier does not transparently indicate the specific species (a small light‑brown cockroach), and "Croton" is not a common lexical clue, so the exact meaning is not predictable from the parts.
Etymology
Croton bug is an old American name for a small cockroach. One popular story says people first found these pests near a place called Croton, so they simply called the insect the Croton 'bug', and that name came to mean this common household pest.