deer tick

noun

: an ixodid tick (Ixodes scapularis synonym I. dammini) of the eastern U.S. and Canada that transmits the bacterium causing Lyme disease

called also black-legged tick

Illustration of deer tick

Examples of deer tick in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The infection is spread by black-legged tick bites, or deer ticks, which are most common across the eastern U.S. —Mary Eber, CBS News, 29 Dec. 2025

Bacteria, usually Borrelia burgdorferi, carried by black-legged ticks, also known as deer ticks, causes Lyme disease. —Claire Cameron, Scientific American, 16 Dec. 2025

The larger wood ticks are easier to spot than the smaller deer ticks. —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, jsonline.com, 6 Oct. 2025

Lyme disease is caused by the borrelia bacteria, which is usually transmitted to humans through the bite of a black-legged tick, also known as a deer tick. —Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE, 18 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1982, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for deer tick

• broomstick
• dipstick
• homesick
• joystick
• lipstick
• nonstick
• pickwick
• picnic
• redbrick
• seasick
• sidekick
• slapstick

Kids Definition

deer tick

noun

: a tick that transmits the bacterium causing Lyme disease

Medical Definition

deer tick

noun

ˈdi(ə)r- 

: a tick of the genus Ixodes (I. scapularis synonym I. dammini) that transmits the bacterium causing Lyme disease