1. An annoying person or thing; a nuisance.
2. An injurious plant or animal, especially one harmful to humans.
3. A deadly epidemic disease; a pestilence.

[French peste, pestilence, from Old French, from Latin pestis.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.