mite

1 of 2

noun (1)

: any of numerous small acarid arachnids that often infest animals, plants, and stored foods and include important disease vectors

mite

2 of 2

noun (2)

1
: a small coin or sum of money
2
a
: a very little : bit
b
: a very small object or creature
Phrases
a mite
: somewhat, rather
could be that I am a mite prejudicedJohn Fischer

Examples of mite in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Childhood Conditions Parents Don't Talk About Scabies Scabies is a skin infection caused by the itch mite. Parents Editors, Parents, 3 Sep. 2023 Cyclamen mites are practically microscopic, but can distort foliage by sucking juice from leaves and stems. Steve Bender, Southern Living, 15 Aug. 2023 Key Takeaways Dust mites are tiny pests that feed on dead skin cells from humans and pets. Alyssa Hui, Verywell Health, 11 July 2023 This is quite unlike many other types of mites, like lice or bedbugs. Christin Perry, Parents, 10 Aug. 2023 Repellent can also help, as can treating your yard with acaricides — a type of pesticide focused on ticks and mites. Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 6 Oct. 2023 Wood said an increase in ticks, fleas and mites can lead to an increase in diseases transmitted by the bloodsucking insects, such as Lyme disease. John Kelly, Washington Post, 4 Oct. 2023 In 1992, an ectoparasitic mite called Varroa destructor, which had jumped from an Asian honeybee to the Western one sometime in the fifties, emerged in Britain and killed untold millions of bees. Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2023 The population is largely healthy, though the Yellowstone wolves have suffered from diseases like distemper and a skin infection known as sarcoptic mange, which is transmitted by mites. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mite.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English mīte; akin to Middle Dutch mite mite, small copper coin

Noun (2)

Middle English, from Middle French or Middle Dutch; Middle French, small Flemish copper coin, from Middle Dutch

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of mite was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near mite

Cite this Entry

“Mite.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mite. Accessed 11 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

mite

noun
ˈmīt
1
: any of various invertebrates that are tiny arachnids closely related to the ticks, that often live on plants, animals, and stored foods, and that include important carriers of disease
2
: a very small coin or sum of money
3
a
: a very little amount : bit
b
: a very small object or creature

Medical Definition

mite

noun
: any of numerous small to very minute arachnids of the order Acari that have a body without a constriction between the cephalothorax and abdomen, mandibles generally chelate or adapted for piercing, usually four pairs of short legs in the adult and but three in the young larvae, and often breathing organs in the form of tracheae and that include parasites of insects and vertebrates some of which are important disease vectors, parasites of plants in which they frequently cause gall formation, pests of various stored products, and completely innocuous free-living aquatic and terrestrial forms see itch mite

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