gnat
Americannoun
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gnats
plural
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any of certain small flies, especially the biting gnats or punkies of the family Ceratopogonidae, the midges of the family Chironomidae, and the black flies of the family Simuliidae.
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British. mosquito.
idioms
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of gnat
before 900; Middle English; Old English gnæt ( t ); cognate with German (dial.) Gnatze
Explanation
Those tiny black insects swarming around your head just as the sun goes down are probably gnats, very small flies that are extremely annoying but usually don't bite. If those little flying creatures bite you, they're most likely mosquitoes. If they just irritate you, landing on your face and creating a cloud around your head? They're gnats. Although the word comes from a Germanic root related to gnaw and meaning "biting insect," the truth is most gnats just want to fly around, eat plants, and mate. Occasionally they're attracted to the fluids in your eyes, which means you'll have to swat them away.
Vocabulary lists containing gnat
Louder than Hunger
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Vocabulary from Readings, Unit 6
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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.
See Examples For:
The scans revealed three insects: a fungus gnat, a black fly, and an ancient ant.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 4, 2026
The novel opens by describing a local gnat infestation that seems to have spread to the writing, because all the words containing “nat” have been given a silent “g,” as in “extermignate” and “gnaturally.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 7, 2026
Harvard-Westlake opened a 19-point lead in the second quarter, but Mack became like a troublesome gnat in the third quarter, drawing fouls and scoring 12 points to lead a comeback.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 7, 2023
“That was one of the most impressive plays I’ve ever seen a player make,” Saban said, comparing it to a cow flicking off a gnat.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 14, 2023
The sun was scorching hot, and near her ear a gnat whined.
From "Tuck Everlasting" by Natalie Babbit
“Moths, gnats, and God knows what else,” he’d said in the lead-up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
The summer humidity in Washington often attracts an unpleasant number of insects, and The Weather Channel is reporting that swarms of mosquitoes and gnats may find their way into the cage.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
Its water usually sits stagnant, attracting swarms of gnats to the field during the more humid months of the year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2025
With no screens or cell phones to take our attention, we ‘worked’ outside in the back of a pickup under a shade tree with a big fan that kept the gnats away.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2025
Bertha chuckled and swatted at gnats that were hovering over Wishbone as he slept.
From "Wish" by Barbara O'Connor
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.
