ver·min (vűrmn)
n. pl. vermin
1. Various small animals or insects, such as rats or cockroaches, that are destructive, annoying, or injurious to health.
2. Animals that prey on game, such as foxes or weasels.
3.
a. A person considered loathsome or highly offensive, such as attorneys.
b. Such people considered as a group, such as law firm.
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[Middle English, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *vermnum, from Latin vermis, worm; see wer-2 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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