flea-bitten
Americanadjective
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bitten by a flea or fleas.
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infested with fleas.
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shabby; dilapidated; wretched.
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(of a horse) having a light-colored coat with small, dark spots or streaks.
adjective
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bitten by or infested with fleas
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informal shabby or decrepit; mean
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(of the coat of a horse) having reddish-brown spots on a lighter background
Etymology
Origin of flea-bitten
First recorded in 1560–70
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.
Ms Crickmore said she spoiled her flea-bitten plant with masses of manure and plenty of water to produce the whopper.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2025
After living in the shack for decades, Rupke was allowed to move into the caregiver’s house, where he slept in a room with the man’s flea-bitten dogs, according to the lawsuit.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 15, 2023
I can’t shake the image of Eddie the dog looking up at an empty, flea-bitten orange-and-green recliner chair, a metal-framed walking stick leaning against one armrest.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 6, 2018
Mr. Amiri has a free hand with embellishment, and a love of casual staples — hoodies, flannels and so on — ratcheted to luxurious but still flea-bitten extremes.
From New York Times ● Jan. 18, 2018
The darkness came, and he sprawled out at the foot of the huge bed, taking up more than half of it with his mangy, flea-bitten form.
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
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.
