Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
fungus gnat

fungus gnat

1 7.5
A small dark fly whose young eat mushrooms and can damage plant roots
  • noun
  • /ˈfʌŋɡəs næt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : mosca de los hongos
  • To prevent damage to your plants, it's important to control the population of fungus gnats in your gardening soil.

The four or five major insect offenders for house plants are mealy bugs, aphids, spider mites, fungus gnats, and whitefly.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • If you notice fungus gnats flying around your houseplants, it's a sign that the soil may be too moist.

  • Well, I told him about my fungus gnats.

    Sisters (2015)

  • And those are fungus gnats and mites.

    MIgardener

  • I mean, I only saw three, but you guys know if you let like population of fungus gnats like take hold, you will have a very big problem on your hands.

  • They can, if you get fungus gnats.

    Sisters (2015)

  • But since I'm using the worm compost in here, that is that's something that that the fungus gnats would definitely, you know, enjoy.

  • The four or five major insect offenders for house plants are mealy bugs, aphids, spider mites, fungus gnats, and whitefly.

    Garden Answer

  • The small, dark fungus gnats hovered near the compost pile, searching for decaying matter to lay their eggs.

Synonyms

gnat
vsfungus gnat
16 1.3

A very small flying insect that sometimes bites people or animals

is narrower referring specifically to larvae that eat fungi and damage plants
sciarid
vsfungus gnat
  • Specialized
9.9

A small black fly that eats mushrooms and plant seedlings

is the common term for related small larvae that feed on fungi

Surface Forms

fungus gnat singular
fungus gnats plural

Morphology

fungus + gnat

The meaning 'a small fly associated with fungi' is directly derivable from combining 'fungus' (a fungal organism) with 'gnat' (a small flying insect): English noun–noun compounds typically denote a subtype or something related to the first noun. This compositional, modifier-head pattern is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The noun fungus gnat comes from what the insect does: gnat names the tiny fly and fungus points to what its young eat, fungi and decaying matter in damp soil. That's why gardeners see these tiny flies around potted plants and why the name links to their habit of harming seedlings.