mite

[mahyt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mite ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

any of numerous small to microscopic arachnids of the subclass Acari, including species that are parasitic on animals and plants or that feed on decaying matter and stored foods.

Origin of mite

before 1000; Middle English myte, Old English mīte; cognate with Middle Dutch mīte, Old High German miza midge

Also called acarid.

mite

[mahyt]

noun

a contribution that is small but is all that a person can afford.

a very small sum of money.

a coin of very small value.

a very small object.

a very small creature.

adverb

to a small extent; somewhat (often preceded by a): a mite selfish.

Origin of mite

1300–50; Middle English myte < Middle Dutch mīte small copper coin; ultimately identical with mite¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for mite

speck, insect, bug, particle, parasite, mote, minim, molecule, atom, bit, tick, smidgen, iota, minute, acarid, nit

Examples from the Web for mite

Contemporary Examples of mite

Not the greatest tragedy in the world, perhaps, but a mite sad.
U.S. Wants Freedom from ‘Filthy’ French Cheese
Alice Guilhamon, Christopher Dickey
July 20, 2013
OPEC meets in Vienna on Friday, a meeting that will, according to the Wall Street Journal, be a mite testy.
Fracking is Pitting OPEC Members Against Each Other. It Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Bunch of Cartel Members.
Megan McArdle
May 29, 2013
Predicting Palestinian genocide of Jews under a one-state solution is a mite farfetched, I would submit.
Accusing Each Other Of Genocide
Mira Sucharov
March 5, 2013
This made him look a mite desperate and distinctly unpresidential.
Yes, The Debate Moderator Screwed Up. That's Life.
Megan McArdle
October 17, 2012
Well, maybe a household name among the Twitterati, we who take ourselves a mite too seriously, but never mind.
The Sedition Files: How an Indian Cartoonist Becomes a Criminal
Dilip D’Souza
September 21, 2012

Historical Examples of mite

"It's not the least mite I'm blaming you, honey," said Katy.
Her Father's Daughter
Gene Stratton-Porter
An' you needn't, dear; for nothin' between us is changed a mite.
Tiverton Tales
Alice Brown
I'll take one of 'em, if you say so, or I'll own it don't make a mite o' difference whose they be.
Tiverton Tales
Alice Brown
"Don't you worry one mite about me," she replied, in an even voice.
Meadow Grass
Alice Brown
I shouldn't wonder a mite if you'd got some o' them stomach troubles along with your cold.
Meadow Grass
Alice Brown

British Dictionary definitions for mite

mite

noun

any of numerous small free-living or parasitic arachnids of the order Acarina (or Acari) that can occur in terrestrial or aquatic habitatsSee also gall mite, harvest mite, itch mite, spider mite Compare tick 2 Related adjective: acaroid

Word Origin for mite

Old English mīte; compare Old High German mīza gnat, Dutch mijt

mite

noun

a very small particle, creature, or object

a very small contribution or sum of moneySee also widow's mite

a former Flemish coin of small value

a mite informal somewhathe's a mite foolish

Word Origin for mite

C14: from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch mīte; compare mite 1

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

Word Origin and History for mite

n.1

"tiny animal, minute arachnid," Old English mite, from Proto-Germanic *miton (cf. Middle Dutch mite, Dutch mijt, Old High German miza, Danish mide) originally meaning perhaps "the cutter," in reference to its bite, from Proto-Germanic *mait- (cf. Gothic maitan, Old High German meizen "to cut"), from PIE root *mai- "to cut" (see maim). Or else its original sense is "something small," and it is from PIE *mei- "small," in reference to size (see minus).

n.2

"little bit," mid-14c., from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German mite "tiny animal," from Proto-Germanic *miton-, from PIE *mei- "small" (see minus), and thus probably identical with mite (n.1). Also the name of a medieval Flemish copper coin of very small value, proverbial in English for "a very small unit of money," hence used since Wyclif to translate Latin minutum from Vulgate in Mark xii:43, itself a translation of Greek lepton. French mite (14c.) is a loan-word from Dutch.

mite in Medicine

mite

[mīt]

n.

Any of numerous small or minute arachnids of the order Acarina, certain species of which are parasitic on animals and plants, infest stored food products, and in some cases transmit disease.

mite in Science

mite

[mīt]

Any of various very small arachnids of the subclass Acari that often live as parasites on other animals or plants. Like ticks and unlike spiders, mites have no division between the cephalothorax and abdomen.