no-see-um
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˌnoʊˈsiː.əm/
- US
:
mosquito de arena
- Even in October, no-see-ums and mosquitoes can pepper your limbs with bites.
- no-see-ums and mosquitoes
Examples
-
The beach was beautiful, but the no-see-ums left us with itchy bites all over our legs.
-
No-see-ums are dust-sized bugs that go through clothing and screens to swarm and attack you.
Academic text (2000) -
A dead "no see um" was by them too.
Blog text (3) -
They may be, but the no-see-ums will leave nothing but bones.
Academic text (2000) -
Safe from being swatted, no-see-ums burrow into hair and beard and sing grace over breakfast.
Academic text (1990) -
She set up camp on a sandbar, thinking of when June would arrive and the mosquitoes and no-see-ums would descend.
Fiction book (1997) -
Some call them punkies, or mayflies, or black flies, or no-see-ums, but in our part of the county they're known as shadflies.
Fiction book (1998) -
Daylight shone in through the knotty pine boards, and no-see-ums bred in the spongy window frames.
Fiction book (2000) -
On hot summer nights, my family closes the windows to keep out mosquitoes and no-see-ums.
-
To prevent bites from no-see-ums, I always spray repellent before going outside in the evening.
Synonyms
16
1.3
A very small flying insect that sometimes bites people or animals
4
6.1
A very small flying insect often found near water that sometimes bites
1
9.9
A tiny insect that bites people and makes itchy spots
1
9.9
A very small insect that bites people and animals, often near water
A very small flying insect that bites animals and people
A very small flying insect that bites animals and people
A small black fly that bites people and animals, often near water
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word no-see-um comes from the informal phrase no see 'um meaning 'you cannot see them', because these insects are so small. That's why no-see-ums means tiny biting midges you don't notice until they bite.