midge
Americannoun
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any of numerous minute dipterous insects, especially of the family Chironomidae, somewhat resembling a mosquito.
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Chiefly British. a little person.
noun
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any fragile mosquito-like dipterous insect of the family Chironomidae, occurring in dancing swarms, esp near water
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any similar or related insect, such as the biting midge and gall midge
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a small or diminutive person or animal
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of midge
First recorded before 900; Middle English mygge, Old English mycg; cognate with German Mücke, Old Norse mȳ; akin to Greek myîa, Latin musca “fly”
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.
The species at the center of the study, Belgica antarctica, is a nonbiting midge, which is a small fly about the size of a grain of rice.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 16, 2026
Because the midge has no known land based predators, plastic it consumes is unlikely to move far up the food chain.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 16, 2026
As for Arthur, the eye midge grants him a second life of sorts, popping itself into his dead skull and jerking him from prone into a seated position.
From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2025
Wales' chief vet Richard Irvine said bluetongue, a virus transmitted by midge bites that affects cattle, sheep and goats, was "a potentially devastating disease".
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2025
She was deeply troubled, and there was no need to explain: every strand of moss, every icy puddle, every midge in her homeland thrilled against her nerves and called her back.
From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman
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.
