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definitions
  • synonyms

kissing bug

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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Origin of kissing bug

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for kissing bug

Historical Examples

  • As the story went West, bites by Conorhinus sanguisuga and Rasatus thoracicus were without doubt termed "kissing-bug" bites.

    Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, November 1899

    Various

  • Their bites and blood-sucking habits gave cause to the "kissing-bug" scare to which the newspapers gave great publicity.

    Great Hike

    Alan Douglas

  • An interesting psychological study was afforded in the summer of 1899, by the "kissing-bug" scare which swept over the country.

    Handbook of Medical Entomology

    William Albert Riley

British Dictionary definitions for kissing bug

kissing bug

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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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012