mosquito
1 Americannoun
plural
mosquitoes, mosquitos-
any of numerous dipterous insects of the family Culicidae, the females of which suck the blood of animals and humans, some species transmitting certain diseases, as malaria and yellow fever.
-
Military. Mosquito, a twin-engined, two-seat British fighter and bomber of World War II, made largely of plywood and having a top speed of 380 miles per hour (610 km/h).
noun
plural
Mosquitos,plural
Mosquitonoun
Other Word Forms
- mosquitoey adjective
Etymology
Origin of mosquito
First recorded in 1575–85; from Spanish, equivalent to mosc(a) “fly” (from Latin musca ) + -ito diminutive suffix
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.
I cross a streambed and am swarmed by mosquitos.
From Literature
They spent a few hours laughing and talking before roaring off on their bikes, like a swarm of loud mosquitoes.
From Literature
Most kids, by then, are bored with summer and itchy from mosquito bites and poison ivy and nothing to do.
From Literature
Female mosquitoes that had recently taken a blood meal were separated and studied in the lab.
From Science Daily
As I escorted the woozy client through the waiting room and out the door, I felt an itch of guilt begin to bother my conscience like a mosquito bite.
From Literature
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.
