Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1500-1600
Language: Latin
Origin: , past participle of exterminare 'to drive out', from terminus 'edge'

exterminate

 verb
     
ex‧ter‧mi‧nate [transitive]
to kill large numbers of people or animals of a particular type so that they no longer exist:
Staff use the poison to exterminate moles and rabbits.
—exterminator noun [countable]
—extermination noun [uncountable and countable]
the extermination of the indigenous peoples
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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