Illustration of mosquito
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
Examples of mosquito in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The sun had set, and mosquitoes swarmed up from the grass below.
—
Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 31 Dec. 2025
Yet this ancient virus still takes a tremendous toll, with 82 million cases and 610,000 deaths in 2024, and there are concerns of losing progress because of climate change that enables mosquitoes to thrive in new geographic areas, drug resistance and reduced funding for community health workers.
—Fran Kritz, NPR, 30 Dec. 2025
What's more, their source – female mosquitoes – is cheap and plentiful.
—New Atlas, 27 Dec. 2025
In the South, that’s not going to cut it, especially in the summer when gnats and mosquitoes are rampant.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 21 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mosquito
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Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 31 Dec. 2025
Yet this ancient virus still takes a tremendous toll, with 82 million cases and 610,000 deaths in 2024, and there are concerns of losing progress because of climate change that enables mosquitoes to thrive in new geographic areas, drug resistance and reduced funding for community health workers.
—Fran Kritz, NPR, 30 Dec. 2025
What's more, their source – female mosquitoes – is cheap and plentiful.
—New Atlas, 27 Dec. 2025
In the South, that’s not going to cut it, especially in the summer when gnats and mosquitoes are rampant.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 21 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mosquito
Cite this Entry
“Mosquito.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mosquito. Accessed 6 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids 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
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
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