Link Centre Dictionary

infest

in·fest

UK/ɪnˈfɛst/ US/ˌɪˈnfɛst/ uncommon obsolete

verb

1.

invade in great numbers

  • “the roaches infested our kitchen”
Synonyms
2.

occupy in large numbers or live on a host

  • “the Kudzu plant infests much of the South and is spreading to the North”
Synonyms
3.

live on or in a host, as of parasites

Origin

From Middle English infesten, from Old French infester (“to infest”), from Latin īnfestō (“assail, molest”, verb), from īnfestus (“hostile”), of uncertain origin.

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.