white-ant

[ hwahyt-ant, wahyt- ]
/ ˈʰwaɪtˌænt, ˈwaɪt- /

verb (used with object) Australian Informal.

to undermine or subvert from within.

Origin of white-ant

First recorded in 1915–20

Words nearby white-ant

white whale, white wine, white wood aster, white work, white zinfandel, white-ant, white-bread, white-coat hypertension, white-collar, white-collar crime, white-crowned sparrow

Definition for white-ant (2 of 2)

white ant

noun

termite.

Origin of white ant

First recorded in 1675–85

Example sentences from the Web for white-ant

  • This stopped him, and Goubasee and myself found him sitting up like a dog, close to a white-ant hill.

    Sport in Abyssinia |Dermot Mayo

  • In the same spirit his companions speak of their white-ant existence without a shade of complaint.

    War |Pierre Loti

  • The white-ant hills here rise like castle-towers above the water of the marshes.

    Some Heroes of Travel |W. H. Davenport Adams

  • In this the animals were surrounded and forced to pass before a white-ant hill on which Burt was posted with the camera.

    The Blind Lion of the Congo |Elliott Whitney

British Dictionary definitions for white-ant

white ant

noun

another name for termite