MITE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does mite mean? 

• MITE (noun)
  The noun MITE has 2 senses:

1. a slight but appreciable amount

2. any of numerous very small to minute arachnids often infesting animals or plants or stored foods

  Familiarity information: MITE used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MITE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A slight but appreciable amount

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

hint; jot; mite; pinch; soupcon; speck; tinge; touch

Context example:

this dish could use a touch of garlic

Hypernyms ("mite" is a kind of...):

small indefinite amount; small indefinite quantity (an indefinite quantity that is below average size or magnitude)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mite"):

snuff (a pinch of smokeless tobacco inhaled at a single time)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any of numerous very small to minute arachnids often infesting animals or plants or stored foods

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("mite" is a kind of...):

acarine (mite or tick)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mite"):

web-spinning mite (a mite that spins a web)

acarid (very small free-living arachnid that is parasitic on animals or plants; related to ticks)

trombidiid (mite that in all stages feeds on other arthropods)

trombiculid (mite that as nymph and adult feeds on early stages of small arthropods but whose larvae are parasitic on terrestrial vertebrates)

acarus; genus Acarus (any of several mites of the order Acarina)

itch mite; sarcoptid (whitish mites that attack the skin of humans and other animals)

rust mite (any of several varieties of mite that burrow into plants and cause a reddish-brown discoloration on the leaves or fruit)

spider mite; tetranychid (web-spinning mite that attacks garden plants and fruit trees)

Holonyms ("mite" is a member of...):

Acarina; order Acarina (mites and ticks)

 Context examples 

You never sit and tell me stories about Doady, when his shoes were worn out, and he was covered with dust—oh, what a poor little mite of a fellow!

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Even this poor little mite, when he woke up to-day, asked the nurse if he might go away.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

The mites — which are parasites and can infect bees with viruses — proliferate easily and cause colony collapse in just years.

(Mushroom Extract Could Help Save Bees from Virus, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

"Me wants me Bhaer," said the mite, slamming down her book and running to meet him.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

“I was just a-wonderin’, that is all. It seemed a mite top-heavy.”

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Substances that often cause reactions are: • Pollen • Dust mites • Mold spores • Pet dander • Food • Insect stings • Medicines

(Allergy, NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

It is characterized by an immense number of mites and hyperkeratotic crusted lesions, and is usually accompanied by lymphadenopathy and eosinophilia.

(Norwegian Scabies, NCI Thesaurus)

Researchers point to many causes for the drop in bee populations, with parasites, particularly the varroa mite, and other diseases as the main culprits.

(Study Finds Mixed News About Bee Populations, VOA)

Mosquito, flea, and mite bites usually itch.

(Insect Bites and Stings, NIH)

In the Swedish population, the identified risk allergens came from peanut, birch, grass and cat, and in the British population from dust mite, grass and cat.

(New Approach to Predict Respiratory Allergy in Early Childhood, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)