gnat
Americannoun
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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
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Other Word Forms
- gnatlike adjective
Etymology
Origin of gnat
before 900; Middle English; Old English gnæt ( t ); cognate with German (dial.) Gnatze
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.
Its water usually sits stagnant, attracting swarms of gnats to the field during the more humid months of the year.
From Los Angeles Times
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
Amid hordes of gnats they excavate that first fossil, which turns out to be a damaged leg bone.
From Los Angeles Times
The plant uses a musky odor to lure fungus gnats that usually feed and lay their eggs on mushrooms into their cup-shaped flowers.
From Science Daily
Once inside, he spots gnats hovering above food rotting on dishes stacked in the kitchen.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
