mite

1 of 2

noun (1)

ˈmīt 

: any of numerous small acarid arachnids that often infest animals, plants, and stored foods and include important disease vectors

mite

2 of 2

noun (2)

1

: a small coin or sum of money

2

a

: a very little : bit

b

: a very small object or creature

Phrases

a mite

: somewhat, rather

could be that I am a mite prejudiced

—John Fischer

Synonyms

Noun (2)

• chicken feed [slang]
• chump change
• dime
• hay
• peanuts
• pin money
• pittance
• shoestring
• song
• two cents

Examples of mite in a Sentence

Noun (2)

I have only a mite left to buy lunch for the rest of the week

the kitten was just a mite, hardly the size of my palm

that speech didn't make a mite of sense

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

They've been linked to cicadas before, with the Illinois Department of Public Health releasing a report in 2008 that said cicadas were the only insect parasitized by the mites the year prior. —Li Cohen, CBS News, 15 Aug. 2024

Most of these bites happen from late summer into the fall, when the mite's populations are very large. —Emily Deletter, USA TODAY, 13 Aug. 2024

Had the mite not been introduced from Asia, European honey bee genes may have prevailed in the southern United States—and the African strain’s genes would not have been particularly advantageous. —Richard Pallardy, Ars Technica, 30 July 2024

The females will then find a gall, or a growth on a plant caused by mites, insects or some other kind of infestation. —Li Cohen, CBS News, 15 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English mīte; akin to Middle Dutch mite mite, small copper coin

Noun (2)

Middle English, from Middle French or Middle Dutch; Middle French, small Flemish copper coin, from Middle Dutch

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing mite

• a mite
• citrus red mite
• dust mite
• European red mite
• follicle mite
• gall mite
• harvest mite
• house dust mite
• mighty mite
• red mite
• rust mite
• spider mite
• two-spotted spider mite
• varroa mite

Kids Definition

mite

noun

ˈmīt

1

: any of various invertebrates that are tiny arachnids closely related to the ticks, that often live on plants, animals, and stored foods, and that include important carriers of disease

2

: a very small coin or sum of money

3

a

: a very little amount : bit

b

: a very small object or creature

Medical Definition

mite

noun

ˈmīt 

: any of numerous small to very minute arachnids of the order Acari that have a body without a constriction between the cephalothorax and abdomen, mandibles generally chelate or adapted for piercing, usually four pairs of short legs in the adult and but three in the young larvae, and often breathing organs in the form of tracheae and that include parasites of insects and vertebrates some of which are important disease vectors, parasites of plants in which they frequently cause gall formation, pests of various stored products, and completely innocuous free-living aquatic and terrestrial forms see itch mite