onion thrips
- noun
- /ˈʌnjən θrɪps/
- Specialized
- Farmers monitor their fields regularly for signs of onion thrips infestation.
Examples
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Onion thrips can cause serious crop losses if not properly controlled.
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Onion thrips are also known to damage tobacco crops under certain conditions.
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The onion thrips are damaging my crops.
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Have you seen any onion thrips in the garden?
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Onion thrips are a significant pest that harm onion plants by feeding on their soft tissues.
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Farmers regularly apply treatments to control onion thrips and protect their crops.
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Detecting onion thrips early can help prevent extensive damage to the onion harvest.
Synonyms
A small thin insect with fringed wings that feeds on plant sap and can damage crops
A tiny insect that eats onion and sometimes tobacco plants
A small insect that eats and harms onion and tobacco plants
Very small, thin insects that often damage plants like crops
Small thin insects with narrow wings that eat sap and damage plants
A small insect with a thin body and fringed wings that feeds on plant sap, called a thrips
Very small insects with thin feathery wings that eat plant sap and damage crops
A group of very small insects that often damage plants
A group of tiny insects called thrips with wings that have fine hairs
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound simply names a type of thrips associated with onions: knowing 'onion' (the plant) and 'thrips' (small plant‑damaging insects) lets a learner infer it is the insect that infests onions. This noun+noun naming pattern is highly compositional and cross‑linguistically common, so the meaning is directly derivable.
Etymology
Onion thrips comes from a simple picture: tiny insects called thrips that live on onion plants and feed on them. They suck the plant juices and can damage leaves and bulbs, so the name now means a small 'pest' that harms onion crops.