Meanings
plural oriental cockroaches
- A large, mostly flightless species of cockroach (Blatta orientalis), found in association with humans worldwide.
Synonyms: water bug, black beetle
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA large, mostly flightless species of cockroach (Blatta orientalis), found in association with humans worldwide.
More synonyms by meaning
noundark brown cockroach originally from orient now nearly cosmopolitan in distribution
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From the taxonomic name.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
oriental cockroach. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oriental%20cockroach
“oriental cockroach.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oriental%20cockroach. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “oriental cockroach,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oriental%20cockroach.
Source: oriental cockroach on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.