fleabite

[flee-bahyt]

noun

1. the bite of a flea.

2. the red spot caused by the bite of a flea.

3. any petty annoyance or irritation, as a trifling wound.

fleabite

/ ˈfliːˌbaɪt /

noun

1. the bite of a flea

2. a slight or trifling annoyance or discomfort

Word History and Origins

Origin of fleabite¹

First recorded in 1400–50, fleabite is from late Middle English flee byte. See flea, bite

Example Sentences

Before they closed, I found myself shouting, “You’re a fleabite, Sampson! An infected fleabite!”

Read more on Literature

Once there, it could make more copies of itself, making it more likely to be transmitted to another person, whether by coughing or by fleabite.

Read more on Scientific American

And that was a mere fleabite compared with his grander ambitions.

Read more on Economist

That fleabite didn’t cause it sufficient discomfort to make it change its ways or its IT systems, so now it has been fined again.

Read more on Forbes

Insiders say we may have to wait until after the German elections to get a final decision on the FTT's shape, but given Europe's propensity for lowest-common-denominator muddling-through, it looks likely the outcome may turn out to be a fleabite, instead of the mighty arrow aimed at the heart of the markets the Robin Hood campaigners hoped for.

Read more on The Guardian