cockroach
English · Thesaurus
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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
cockroach
- /ˈkɑkɹoʊt͡ʃ/ US
- /ˈkɑkəɹoʊt͡ʃ/ US, nonstandard
- /ˈkɒkɹəʊt͡ʃ/ UK
Where it comes from
From Spanish cucaracha, from cuca (“butterfly caterpillars”), of onomatopoeic origin; see also Greek κόκκυξ (kókkux) and Late Latin cucus. Influenced, by means of folk etymology, by cock and roach. Doublet of cucaracha.
noun cockroaches
-
Any black or brown straight-winged insect of the order Blattodea that is not a termite.
Then there were cockroach hunts; we chased them out of their haunts, where at night they busily devoured currants, jam, and sugar; in fact their diet was far more varied than ours, for they made plentiful meals off our boots, the coverings of our books, and any stray pieces of flannel that came in t
Similar: roach
- Term of abuse. I want a divorce, you cockroach!
- A person or a member of a group of people regarded as undesirable and rapidly procreating. During the Rwandan genocide, Hutu genocidaires labelled Tutsis as cockroaches and called for their extermination.
- A person from New South Wales.
- A hard lump of brown sugar.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: roach, beetle, bug, insect, vermin, pest, manure, blue, dung, scumbag, tack, scum, creep, sad, depressed, wretch
Translations
Every language
noun type of insect
| Español | cucaracha, jate, curiana, fatula |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 바퀴 bakwi, 바퀴벌레 bakwibeolle |
| 日本語 | ゴキブリ gokiburi |
| 中文 | 蟑螂 zhāngláng, 蜚蠊 fěilián, 偷油婆 tōuyóupó, 小強 /小强 xiǎoqiáng |
| हिन्दी | तिलचट्टा tilcaṭṭā, तिलचटा tilacṭā, चपड़ा capṛā |
| Kiswahili | mende, kombamwiko |
| Português | barata, carocha |
| Français | cafard, blatte, coquerelle |
| Deutsch | Schabe, Kakerlake |
| Italiano | blatta, scarafaggio |
| Ελληνικά | κατσαρίδα katsarída |
| Română | gândac, libarcă, rus |
| Русский | тарака́н tarakán, пруса́к prusák |
| Tiếng Việt | gián |
| العربية | صُرْصُور ṣurṣūr |
| עברית | ג׳וּק juk, תִּיקָן tikan |
Talk about this word "cockroach." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/cockroach. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. cockroach. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/cockroach "cockroach." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/cockroach.Cite this
@misc{cockroach_2026,
title = {cockroach},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/cockroach},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
