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Glite Dictionary
noseeum bite

noseeum bite

7.6
A small itchy mark on the skin caused by tiny insects called no-see-ums
  • noun
  • /noʊˈsiː.əm baɪt/
  • US
translation icon : picadura de noseeum
  • He applied lotion to soothe the noseeum bites he got while camping.

Examples

  • I got a noseeum bite while hiking last weekend.

  • The itching from a noseeum bite can be worse than a mosquito's.

  • After walking through the marsh, Sarah discovered several noseeum bites on her ankles.

  • These noseeum bites are so irritating!

  • After walking through the marsh, Sarah discovered several noseeum bites on her ankles.

  • He applied lotion to soothe the noseeum bites he got while camping.

  • The itching from a noseeum bite can be worse than a mosquito's.

Synonyms

mosquito bite
vsnoseeum bite
10 1.0

A small red itchy bump on the skin from a mosquito

is from a much tinier, often invisible biter that mainly causes irritation
insect bite
vsnoseeum bite
4 2.5

A small itchy or painful mark on the skin caused by an insect

is specifically from a much smaller, hardly seen biting creature causing itching
fleabite
vsnoseeum bite
1 4.2

A small red bump on the skin made by a flea

is caused by a much smaller, hardly seen biting insect that often itches
flea bite
vsnoseeum bite
2.5

A small red itchy spot on the skin caused by a flea

is caused by a much smaller, barely visible biting insect that often itches

Surface Forms

noseeum bite singular
noseeum bites plural

Morphology

noseeum + bite

The structure 'X bite' is compositionally clear — it denotes a bite caused by X, so the word 'bite' makes the overall concept partly predictable. However, 'noseeum' is a dialectal/colloquial name for a tiny biting insect (no-see-um) that is not morphologically transparent or predictable from common English morphemes and is likely unfamiliar to a B1 learner, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

The phrase noseeum bite comes from tiny insects called noseeums, because you can hardly see them but they still leave an itchy bite. So, 'noseeum bite' means 'a very small insect bite that itches'.