Standard Lemma guide

thrips

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • CMU ARPABET: TH R IH1 P S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Any of the many small insects of the order Thysanoptera, especially those that attack useful plants.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • 2002, Thrips, article in International Wildlife Encyclopedia Volume 19, Picture caption, page 2676, The thousands of thrips species include among their number the smallest of all winged insects.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

any of various small to minute sucking insects with narrow feathery wings if any; they feed on plant sap and many are destructive

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: thrip, thripid

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: thysanopter, thysanopteron, thysanopterous insect

Narrower terms: tobacco thrips, Frankliniella fusca, onion thrips, onion louse, Thrips tobaci

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek θρίψ (thríps, “wood-worm”).

Across languages

Translations

20 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 薊馬 /蓟马 (jìmǎ) — insect of the order Thysanoptera
  • Danish: thrips — insect of the order Thysanoptera
  • Estonian: ripslane — insect of the order Thysanoptera
  • Finnish: ripsiäinen — insect of the order Thysanoptera
  • French: thrips — insect of the order Thysanoptera
  • French: thrip — insect of the order Thysanoptera
  • German: Fransenflügler — insect of the order Thysanoptera
  • Greek: θυσανόπτερο (thysanóptero) — insect of the order Thysanoptera
  • Greek: θριψ (thrips) — insect of the order Thysanoptera
  • Hungarian: tripsz — insect of the order Thysanoptera
  • Norwegian: trips — insect of the order Thysanoptera
  • Polish: wciornastek — insect of the order Thysanoptera
  • Polish: przylżeniec — insect of the order Thysanoptera
  • Russian: трипс (trips) — insect of the order Thysanoptera
  • Spanish: tisanóptero — insect of the order Thysanoptera
  • Swedish: trips — insect of the order Thysanoptera
  • Turkish: saçakkanat — insect of the order Thysanoptera
  • Turkish: kirpikkanatlı — insect of the order Thysanoptera
  • Welsh: thrips — insect of the order Thysanoptera
  • Welsh: pryf taranau — insect of the order Thysanoptera