gnat

[ nat ]
See synonyms for gnat on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. any of certain small flies, especially the biting gnats or punkies of the family Ceratopogonidae, the midges of the family Chironomidae, and the black flies of the family Simuliidae.

  2. British. mosquito.

Idioms about gnat

  1. strain at a gnat and swallow a camel, to fuss about trifles while ignoring more serious matters.

Origin of gnat

1
before 900; Middle English; Old English gnæt(t); cognate with German (dial.) Gnatze

Other words from gnat

  • gnatlike, adjective

Words Nearby gnat

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use gnat in a sentence

  • Dun gnat—from inside wing feather of a Landrail and fawn coloured silk—cypher hook.

    The Teesdale Angler | R Lakeland
  • The Black gnat—dubbed with black mohair, the wings of the lightest part of a starling.

    The Teesdale Angler | R Lakeland
  • Little Black gnat—dubbed with black strands from an ostrich, wings, light feather from underneath starling's wing.

    The Teesdale Angler | R Lakeland
  • My, it was a feast that made his eyes open and his stomach swell like a toad's trying to swallow a gnat.

    Bumper, The White Rabbit | George Ethelbert Walsh
  • When once this gnat had disappeared—and the life of the Mosquito is not a long one—the bird would die of starvation.

    More Hunting Wasps | J. Henri Fabre

British Dictionary definitions for gnat

gnat

/ (næt) /


noun
  1. any of various small fragile biting dipterous insects of the suborder Nematocera, esp Culex pipiens (common gnat), which abounds near stagnant water

Origin of gnat

1
Old English gnætt; related to Middle High German gnaz scurf, German dialect Gnitze gnat

Derived forms of gnat

  • gnatlike, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012