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Glite Dictionary
☠️ To kill bugs 🥄 Edible protein
insect powder

insect powder

3.2
A powder used to kill insects
  • noun
translation icon : insecticida en polvo
  • If you have ants in the kitchen, try sprinkling some insect powder where they enter.

Examples

  • The gardener applied insect powder to protect the rose bushes from aphids.

  • Many old homes were treated with insect powder to prevent infestations.

  • The gardener applied insect powder to the plants.

  • I bought some insect powder for the aphids.

  • To control the pest problem in her garden, she decided to use insect powder on the infested plants.

  • After noticing the bugs in the garden, he spread insect powder around the vegetable patch.

  • The farmer used insect powder to eliminate the harmful insects damaging his crops.

Synonyms

insecticide
vsinsect powder
  • Specialized
26 4.1

A chemical used to kill insects that harm crops or homes

is the dry solid form used to kill insects rather than any form

Surface Forms

insect powder singular
insect powders plural

Morphology

insect + powder

The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'insect' (small arthropod) + 'powder' (fine dry material): a powder made from insects. This simple noun+noun compound follows transparent word-formation patterns found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can reliably infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Insect powder comes from the simple image of fine powder sprinkled where insects walk; people would dust cracks or paths so the powder touched and killed or drove away the bugs. So it means 'a powder used to kill insects'.