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cockroach

/ˌkɑkˈroʊtʃ/
/ˈkɒkrəʊtʃ/
IPA guide

Other forms: cockroaches

A cockroach is a large insect that's a familiar urban pest. If you've got cockroaches in your apartment, you'll see them scatter when you flip on the light in your kitchen at night.

Cockroaches have been around for hundreds of millions of years, and experts guess they might outlive humans. These hardy insects have adapted to so many threats over time that they're nearly indestructible today. For example, radiation that would kill you won't harm a cockroach. It's almost impossible to drown them (they can live for hours without oxygen), and they're immune to most of the poisons people use on them. Cockroach comes from the Spanish cucaracha, "beetle."

Definitions of cockroach
  1. noun
    any of numerous chiefly nocturnal insects; some are domestic pests
    synonyms: roach
    see moresee less
    types:
    Asiatic cockroach, Blatta orientalis, blackbeetle, oriental cockroach, oriental roach
    dark brown cockroach originally from orient now nearly cosmopolitan in distribution
    American cockroach, Periplaneta americana
    large reddish brown free-flying cockroach originally from southern United States but now widely distributed
    Australian cockroach, Periplaneta australasiae
    widely distributed in warm countries
    Blattella germanica, Croton bug, German cockroach, crotonbug, water bug
    small light-brown cockroach brought to United States from Europe; a common household pest
    giant cockroach
    large tropical American cockroaches
    type of:
    dictyopterous insect
    cockroaches and mantids
Pronunciation
US
/ˌkɑkˈroʊtʃ/
UK
/ˈkɒkrəʊtʃ/
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