mosquito

noun

mos·​qui·​to mə-ˈskē-(ˌ)tō 

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

mosquitoey

mə-ˈskē-tə-wē 

adjective

Illustration of mosquito

Examples of mosquito in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The New York City Health Department warned New Yorkers to protect themselves as the number of mosquitoes found carrying West Nile virus in the city is almost double in comparison to this time last year. — Amethyst Martinez, USA Today, 7 Aug. 2026

The North Shore Mosquito Abatement District has detected the virus in a batch of mosquitoes collected on August 3. — Elyssa Kaufman, CBS News, 5 Aug. 2026

Biting insects like mosquitoes and blackflies transmit disease, while cockroaches, weevils, and mites contaminate food stores. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 4 Aug. 2026

Either way, the spread of kudzu, Burmese pythons, Joro spiders, mosquitoes, killer bees, and Asiatic false hawk’s-beards, to name just a few, has tugged on some primal taproot in us. — Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1572, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing mosquito

• anti-mosquito
• Asian tiger mosquito
• mosquito fish
• mosquito hawk
• mosquito net
• tiger mosquito
• yellow-fever mosquito

Rhymes for mosquito

• bonito
• burrito
• capito
• negrito
• incognito
• peto
• veto

Kids Definition

mosquito

noun

mos·​qui·​to mə-ˈskēt-ō 

plural mosquitoes also mosquitos

: any of numerous two-winged flies of which the females have a needlelike structure of the mouth region adapted to puncture the skin and suck the blood of animals

mosquitoey

-ˈskēt-ə-wē 

adjective

Etymology

from Spanish mosquito "mosquito," literally "little fly," from mosca "fly"

Medical Definition

mosquito

noun

mos·​qui·​to mə-ˈskēt-(ˌ)ō, -ə(-w) 

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