flea-bitten

[flee-bit-n]

adjective

1. bitten by a flea or fleas.

2. infested with fleas.

3. shabby; dilapidated; wretched.

4. (of a horse) having a light-colored coat with small, dark spots or streaks.

flea-bitten

adjective

1. bitten by or infested with fleas

2. informal,  shabby or decrepit; mean

3. (of the coat of a horse) having reddish-brown spots on a lighter background

Word History and Origins

Origin of flea-bitten¹

First recorded in 1560–70

Example Sentences

After living in the shack for decades, Rupke was allowed to move into the caregiver’s house, where he slept in a room with the man’s flea-bitten dogs, according to the lawsuit.

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The darkness came, and he sprawled out at the foot of the huge bed, taking up more than half of it with his mangy, flea-bitten form.

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As the door slammed and he was driven away to spend the night sleeping under a flea-bitten sheet in a frigid Mexican detention centre, Ryan begged a passer-by for help.

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As we reduce and affect their natural habitats, will we be left with big cats as flea-bitten, oversized but potentially deadly kittens?

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Israel isn't a pariah, except maybe in the dusty, flea-bitten capitals of places like Sudan, Syria and North Korea.

Read more on New York Times