: any of numerous small acarid arachnids that often infest animals, plants, and stored foods and include important disease vectors
1
: a small coin or sum of money
2
a
: a very little : bit
b
: a very small object or creature
Synonyms
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
Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 29 Oct. 2024
Some variations are also showing very good efficacy on pests including the Varroa destructor mite which continues to plague the commercial honeybee industry.
—Steven Savage, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024
These mites are highly species-specific, meaning they are adapted to live on animals and do not easily thrive on humans.
—Cathy M. Rosenthal, San Antonio Express-News, 3 Oct. 2024
Any larvae in the gall are paralyzed with the mite's venom, which is strong enough to paralyze prey 166,000 times the mite's size, PennState Extension says.
—Li Cohen, CBS News, 15 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mite 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
That includes canine distemper, parvo, and fleas, ticks and the mites that cause mange.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 29 Oct. 2024
Some variations are also showing very good efficacy on pests including the Varroa destructor mite which continues to plague the commercial honeybee industry.
—Steven Savage, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024
These mites are highly species-specific, meaning they are adapted to live on animals and do not easily thrive on humans.
—Cathy M. Rosenthal, San Antonio Express-News, 3 Oct. 2024
Any larvae in the gall are paralyzed with the mite's venom, which is strong enough to paralyze prey 166,000 times the mite's size, PennState Extension says.
—Li Cohen, CBS News, 15 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mite
Dictionary Entries Near mite
Cite this Entry
“Mite.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mite. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
mite
noun
: 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share