Meanings
plural varmints
- A pestilent or predatory ground-borne animal, especially one that kills or harasses a farmer's animals or crops.
Its windows were merely open spaces in the walls, which in the summertime were covered with greasy strips of cheesecloth to keep out the varmints that feasted on Maycomb’s refuse. The varmints had a lean time of it,[…]
1960 July 11, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC - broadlyAn obnoxious person or troublemaker.
You'd be but a fierce young hound indeed, if at your time of life you could help to hunt a wretched warmint, hunted as near death and dunghill as this poor wretched warmint is!
1860 December – 1861 August, Charles Dickens, chapter III, in Great Expectations […], volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published October 1861, →OCLC, pages 36-37
Synonyms & antonyms
nounany usually predatory wild animal considered undesirable; e.g., coyote
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinvermis“worm”
- Englishvarmint
Dialectal form of vermin, derived from Latin vermis (“worm”), c. 1530–1540s. Perhaps influenced by Latin vargus (“bandit, outlaw, scoundrel”), though the pronunciation in /ɑː(ɹ)/ is more likely due to the same lowering of /ɛr/ > /ar/ found in carve < Middle English kerven and starve < Middle English sterven. The final syllable is probably altered after -ment; compare parchment < Middle English parchemyn.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian вредител, пакостник
- вредител (vreditel)pestering animal
- пакостник (pakostnik)person who is obnoxious
Catalan feristela, escurçó
- feristelapestering animal
- escurçóperson who is obnoxious
Czech škodná, neřád
- škodnápestering animal
- neřádperson who is obnoxious
- chamraďperson who is obnoxious
Finnish tuhoeläin
- tuhoeläinpestering animal
French nuisible, peste
- nuisiblepestering animal
- pesteperson who is obnoxious
- plaieperson who is obnoxious
German Schädling, Gewürm
- Schädlingpestering animal
- Gewürmpestering animal
Polish robactwo, łapserdak
- robactwopestering animal
- łapserdakperson who is obnoxious
Portuguese praga
- pragapestering animal
Russian вредитель
- вредитель (vreditelʹ)pestering animal
Cite this entry
varmint. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/varmint
“varmint.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/varmint. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “varmint,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/varmint.
Source: varmint on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.