From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtermiteter‧mite /ˈtɜːmaɪt $ ˈtɜːr-/ noun [countable] HBIan insect that eats and destroys wood from trees and buildings
Examples from the Corpus
termite• One animal, however, has acquired the ability to fish termites out of their nests very much more swiftly.• A single bug may catch ten or more termites in succession in this way.• On the contrary, they and indeed most other termites certainly have.• Other hive worlds are poisoned wildernesses punctuated by rearing plasteel termite mounds, vertical cities that punch through the clouds.• The termite inspector can point out some problem areas.• This is not to say that these termites have no perception of the earth's magnetic field.• Insects appeared about half a billion years ago, but stayed solitary until termites turned up three hundred million years later.Origin termite (1700-1800) Modern Latin termes, from Latin tarmes “wood-eating worm” 