mosquito
noun
any of numerous dipterous insects of the family Culicidae, the females of which suck the blood of animals and humans, some species transmitting certain diseases, as malaria and yellow fever.
mosquito
1 American
[muh-skee-toh]
/ məˈski toʊ /
noun
-
mosquitoes,
plural
-
mosquitos
plural
-
any of numerous dipterous insects of the family Culicidae, the females of which suck the blood of animals and humans, some species transmitting certain diseases, as malaria and yellow fever.
-
Military. Mosquito, a twin-engined, two-seat British fighter and bomber of World War II, made largely of plywood and having a top speed of 380 miles per hour (610 km/h).
Mosquito
2
American
[muh-skee-toh]
/ məˈski toʊ /
noun
-
Mosquitos,
plural
-
Mosquito
plural
mosquito
British
/ məˈskiːtəʊ /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of mosquito
First recorded in 1575–85; from Spanish, equivalent to mosc(a) “fly” (from Latin musca ) + -ito diminutive suffix
Explanation
A mosquito is a tiny stinging insect that leaves an itchy welt on your skin. Between its annoying bites and its ability to spread disease, the mosquito is not the most popular of insects (unlike the fair ladybug). Male mosquitoes feed on nectar and live only a few days, while females need to feed on blood in order for their eggs to develop and be laid. Female mosquitoes, therefore, can be a nuisance on summer evenings, and can even be downright dangerous in tropical areas where they often spread diseases like malaria. In Spanish, mosquito means "little gnat," from mosca, "gnat or fly."
Vocabulary lists containing mosquito
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.
See Examples For:
The strong presence of mosquito remains also lends support to the idea that prey carcasses may sometimes have been stored in ponds or marshy environments, where mosquitoes would have laid their eggs.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026
Only when they reviewed the images did the Grammatico twins realise they had captured a mosquito resting on the head of a fer-de-lance viper.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
“August and September are peak periods of West Nile virus transmission in the state, so we urge everyone to take precautions to protect themselves against mosquito bites.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
"We have a beautiful garden, and I would plant it in May or June, and basically walk away until October," Sandra Marquardt said of the mosquito issue.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
“Tomorrow we’ll buy some mosquito repellent,” Arul promised.
From "The Bridge Home" by Padma Venkatraman
"With climate change, we're sitting on a ticking time bomb," the 32-year-old founder of Bee Safe Mosquito Control tells AFP.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
“Florida is on the front lines,” John-Paul Mutebi, director of Miami-Dade County’s Mosquito Control division, told me.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
Bee Safe Mosquito Control is the first business in the US to offer this form of pest control directly to residents.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
The virus was detected in a mosquito collected from a surveillance trap in the city of Alhambra, the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District announced Monday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
Thirty passengers had to be rescued from the Virginia V, one of the last of the city’s historic Mosquito Fleet, when she smashed into a wharf and her superstructure was crushed.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Mosquitos have spread, due to stagnant waters following the flooding.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 13, 2022
Mosquitos themselves were also among their ranks, further transmitting the deadly disease with each new bite.
From Salon ● Feb. 26, 2022
The images made by the unit flying in a variety of aircraft, including Mosquitos and Spitfires, helped in the planning of major milestones of the war, including the D-Day landings and the Dambusters raid.
From BBC ● Dec. 5, 2021
The Blair-Pongracic Band with the Atomic Mosquitos Two instrumental surf bands perform.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 13, 2017
Mosquitos and an insect known as the "bull-dog" had driven many a trapper and hunter out of the swampy regions around Hudson Bay.
From Boy Scouts in Northern Wilds by Archibald Lee Fletcher
Among the most common genetic traces in Neanderthal tartar were remains from Diptera, the insect group that includes flies and mosquitoes.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026
The strong presence of mosquito remains also lends support to the idea that prey carcasses may sometimes have been stored in ponds or marshy environments, where mosquitoes would have laid their eggs.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026
A Frankfurt Airport worker has died of malaria after a rare outbreak led to six employees contracting the serious infection spread by mosquitoes.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
West Nile virus survives in nature in several types of birds and is transmitted to humans by the bites of mosquitoes that feed on infected birds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
On the first warm day, approximately two hundred million mosquitoes decided to express this disagreement and came to call.
From This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen
Those around him fell sick, exposed to relentless mosquitos.
From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026
This method, known as the Sterile Insect Technique, has been in use for many years to control a variety of insect populations, including fruit flies and mosquitos.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
“I hate mosquitos because they love me so much,” one reader said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 22, 2026
The region has also experienced outbreaks of malaria, exacerbated by the floods which leave pockets of standing water that act as breeding grounds for the mosquitos that carry the disease.
From Salon ● Apr. 9, 2025
It was one of those nice Florida days that makes you forget about the months of steamy air teeming with blood-hungry mosquitos.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
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.
