mosquito

noun mos·qui·to \ mə-ˈskē-(ˌ)tō \

Definition of mosquito

plural mosquitoes also mosquitos

:any of a family (Culicidae) of dipteran flies with females that have a set of slender organs in the proboscis adapted to puncture the skin of animals and to suck their blood and that are in some cases vectors of serious diseases

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mosquitoey

play \-ˈskē-tə-wē\ adjective

See mosquito defined for English-language learners

See mosquito defined for kids

Recent Examples of mosquito from the Web

But many mosquitoes have evolved resistance to certain insecticides.

— robert f. service, Science | AAAS, "Pesticide-spiked punch lures mosquitoes to their doom," 24 Aug. 2017
Anyone with flu-like symptoms who has been bitten by a mosquito in the last 15 days should get tested for the virus.

— wbtv, charlotteobserver, "Insecticide to be sprayed in Rock Hill after reported West Nile case," 15 Aug. 2017
No infected batches of mosquitoes have been found in the Will County portion of Naperville, said Tom Casey, the county's director of environmental health.

— bill bird, Naperville Sun, "West Nile virus found at 6 mosquito-checking sites in Naperville," 10 Aug. 2017
Cardé’s primary research interests focus on communication by pheromones in moths, and host-finding by female mosquitoes.

— nicole miller-coleman, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Don't look now, but a host of world-class entomologists are in your back yard," 6 Aug. 2017
A good fan dangling from the haint blue ceiling kept the jumbo mosquitoes away.

— leslie anne tarabella, AL.com, "We'll leave the (porch) light on for you," 1 Aug. 2017
The city last year increased its mosquito-control budget by 33 percent.

— donald g. mcneil jr., New York Times, "Houston Braces for Another Brush With the Peril of Zika," 17 July 2017
Whether there’s a favorable habitat for the mosquito that carries the malaria parasite, but the other piece there is the malaria parasite itself and how temperature influences the sort of life cycle of the parasite.

— david wallace-wells, Daily Intelligencer, "Scientist Michael Mann on ‘Low-Probability But Catastrophic’ Climate Scenarios," 11 July 2017
A planned release of mosquitoes in the Florida Keys also received a green light from the USDA, though local opposition has stalled that experiment.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "Genetically Modified Moth May Soon Be Coming to New York Crops," 11 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mosquito.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Illustration of mosquito

Origin and Etymology of mosquito

Spanish, diminutive of mosca fly, from Latin musca — more at midge

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1572

See Words from the same year

Other Insect Terms

drone, entomology, gadfly, pismire, proboscis, vespine

MOSQUITO Defined for English Language Learners

mosquito

noun

Definition of mosquito for English Language Learners

: a small flying insect that bites the skin of people and animals and sucks their blood

MOSQUITO Defined for Kids

mosquito

noun mos·qui·to \ mə-ˈskē-tō \

Definition of mosquito for Students

plural mosquitoes

:a small fly the female of which punctures the skin of people and animals to suck their blood

Medical Dictionary

mosquito

noun mos·qui·to \ mə-ˈskēt-(ˌ)ō, -ə(-w) \

medical Definition of mosquito

plural mosquitoes also mosquitos

:any of numerous dipteran flies of the family Culicidae that have a rather narrow abdomen, usually a long slender rigid proboscis, and narrow wings with a fringe of scales on the margin and usually on each side of the wing veins, that have in the male broad feathery antennae and mouthparts not fitted for piercing and in the female slender antennae and a set of needlelike organs in the proboscis with which they puncture the skin of animals to suck the blood, that lay their eggs on the surface of stagnant water, that include many species which pass through several generations in the course of a year and hibernate as adults or winter in the egg state, and that include some species which are the only vectors of certain diseases — see aedes, anopheles, culex