biter
Americannoun
-
a person or animal that bites, especially habitually or viciously.
That dog is a biter.
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Chiefly Chesapeake Bay. the larger claw of a crab.
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Obsolete. a cheat; swindler; fraud.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of biter
A Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at bite, -er 1
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:
He used to be an infamous biter, but a few sessions at the Zoom Room, an indoor dog training gym, helped wean him off, said Alejandra Gonzalez, Franklin Bean’s owner.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2025
"Not that the economy wasn't relevant in those times, but there were other huge things going on," he said, describing the current race as a "nail biter".
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2024
Having in mind that the toe biter is an iconic species accompanied by creepy stories concerning its encounters with humans, the authors assume that it is unlikely that it had gone unnoticed for too long.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 18, 2024
Both teams were coming off overtime losses to ranked teams in the semifinals and played another nail biter.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 25, 2022
When it was Monica’s turn to fence against Rosella Gregorio from Italy, it was a nail biter.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
This was until Estevao intervened as the biters of early in the season were painfully bitten back.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2025
Vector control officials in Southern California are starting to release sterilized male mosquitoes to combat the summertime onslaught of ankle biters.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2024
The ants they eat are powerful biters and particularly venomous, but the lizards swallow them alive.
From Science Magazine ● May 24, 2023
I’ve tried everything to combat the biters, but I still get eaten alive in my backyard.
From The Verge ● Jun. 3, 2022
The while these biters ply the lip, A mile ahead the muse shall skip: The poet's purpose she best may serve Inside the den—if she have the nerve.
From Cobwebs from an Empty Skull by Bierce, Ambrose
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.
