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Glite Dictionary
horse tick

horse tick

9.0
A flying insect that drinks blood from horses
  • noun
  • /hɔrs tɪk/
translation icon : garrapata de caballo
  • The veterinarian found a horse tick attached to the mare's mane after the ride.

Examples

  • She found a horse tick on her pony yesterday.

  • Groomers recommend checking for horse ticks during regular horse care routines.

  • Horse ticks can cause irritation and transmit diseases to horses if not treated promptly.

  • The horse tick can transmit diseases to horses.

  • Horse ticks can cause irritation and transmit diseases to horses if not treated promptly.

  • The veterinarian found a horse tick attached to the mare's mane after the ride.

  • Groomers recommend checking for horse ticks during regular horse care routines.

Synonyms

horsefly
vshorse tick
3 5.5

A large fly whose females bite horses and other animals to drink blood

feeds on horses without those large painful bites
Hippobosca equina
vshorse tick
  • Specialized
9.9

A small winged fly that bites horses to drink their blood

is the common everyday name for the same fly
hippoboscid
vshorse tick
  • Specialized
9.9

A small flat fly that sucks blood from birds and mammals

feeds specifically on horses rather than many different hosts

Surface Forms

horse tick singular
horse ticks plural

Morphology

horse + tick

The meaning is directly compositional: 'horse' specifies the type/host and 'tick' names the parasitic creature, so a learner who knows both words will infer it is a tick associated with horses. This noun-noun modifier pattern is common cross-linguistically and follows standard English compounding, making the sense predictable for B1 learners.

Etymology

Horse tick is a name that gives a clear picture: a small, blood-sucking creature on a horse. The words horse and tick show it is a 'tick' that 'bites' horses, so the name means an insect that feeds on horses.