kissing bug

American  

noun

1. Informal.

   1. a person much given to kissing.

   2. an irresistible desire to kiss or be kissed.

2. any of several assassin bugs that attack humans, sometimes inflicting painful bites.

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kissing bug British  

noun

1. a North American assassin bug, Melanolestes picipes, with a painful bite, usually attacking the lips or cheeks of man

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Etymology

Origin of kissing bug

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900

Compare meaning

How does kissing-bug compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• assassin bug vs. kissing bug

Example Sentences

Other insects do this, such as the kissing bug, which uses a "stretch receptor" in its abdomen to monitor its size, Shingleton explained.

From Science Daily • Nov. 27, 2023

But the insect has found new prominence in Delaware, where health officials recently confirmed their first run-in with a kissing bug, making its known distribution across 28 states, according to researchers at Texas A&M University.

From Washington Post • Apr. 25, 2019

As well as the bloodsucking kissing bug and a half-dozen species of rattlesnake, there are black widows, Gila monsters, the deadly poisonous coral snakes and the giant, hairy desert scorpions.

From The Guardian • Jun. 16, 2018

In Latin America, the organization had worked with a Brazilian laboratory to manufacture a formulation of benznidazole for children infected with the kissing bug disease.

From Slate • Sep. 7, 2017

"Yes, I see," said Uncle Ike, as he rubbed his eyes, and looked at the kissing bug.

From Peck's Uncle Ike and The Red Headed Boy 1899 by Peck, George W. (George Wilbur)