Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

slave ant

American  

noun

  1. an ant taken as a larva or pupa by ants of another species and becoming a working member of the captor colony.

slave ant British  

noun

  1. any of various ants, esp Formica fusca, captured and forced to do the work of a colony of ants of another species ( slave-making ants ) See also amazon ant

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of slave ant

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The same gentleman another day observed a slave ant venture out to the entrance to the ant-hill to enjoy the warmth of the sun.

From The Animal Story Book by Various

A master ant presently came along, an animated conversation took place, and the slave ant was seized upon and borne off again to bondage.

From The Animal Story Book by Various

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.