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# locust

noun (a locust, locusts)

«locust» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A large kind of grasshopper that sometimes gathers in huge swarms that fly far and eat all the crops. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/locust/#m1)
2. (Bible) Locusts are one of the plagues of Egypt in the Book of Exodus; John the Baptist ate locusts and wild honey. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/locust/#m2)
3. (US, informal) Sometimes used for a cicada, a loud buzzing insect. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/locust/#m3)
4. A kind of tree (the locust tree or carob). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/locust/#m4)

### In the lessons

In science and geography it shows how insects can damage farms and cause hunger in parts of Africa and Asia. In Bible lessons it is part of the story of Moses and the plagues. Phrases: a plague of locusts, a swarm of locusts.

### Examples

- A swarm of locusts can eat a whole field in one day. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/locust/#x1)
- Locusts are a kind of grasshopper. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/locust/#x2)
- In the Bible, God sent locusts to cover the land of Egypt. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/locust/#x3)
- John the Baptist ate locusts and wild honey. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/locust/#x4)
- Farmers in East Africa feared the locust swarms. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/locust/#x5)
- Some people around the world eat roasted locusts. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/locust/#x6)
- A BOY was hunting for locusts. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/locust/#x7)

### Note

Countable. A swarm can hold millions or even billions of locusts, which is why the numbers in problems about them get huge. In the USA people sometimes wrongly call cicadas locusts.

## In Jewish tradition

The locust is a plague of Egypt that eats all the crops. In Deuteronomy, locusts are a curse for those who break the covenant. In Psalms the locust is remembered as one of the plagues of Egypt, and in Job God asks if man can make the horse leap like a locust.

**Interpretation.** The rabbis count the locusts as the eighth of the ten plagues. Tradition also permits eating certain kinds of locust. The psalms retell the plagues to praise God's power in saving Israel.

### Examples

- All thy trees and the fruit of thy land shall the locust possess. (Torah DEU.28.42, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/L/locust/#x1)
- Else, if thou refuse to let My people go, behold, to-morrow will I bring locusts into thy border; (Torah EXO.10.4, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/L/locust/#x2)
- Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather little in; for the locust shall consume it. (Torah DEU.28.38, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/L/locust/#x3)
- Hast thou made him to leap as a locust? (Writings JOB.39.20, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/L/locust/#x4)
- He spoke, and the locust came, and the canker-worm without number, (Writings PSA.105.34, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/L/locust/#x5)
- He gave also their increase unto the caterpillar, and their labour unto the locust. (Writings PSA.78.46, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/L/locust/#x6)

### Note

Countable. A swarm can hold millions or even billions of locusts, which is why the numbers in problems about them get huge. In the USA people sometimes wrongly call cicadas locusts.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «locust» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/locust/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«locust» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/locust.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of «locust» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/L/locust/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«locust» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/locust.html) on Mova free.