Gnat
n.
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A blood-sucking dipterous fly, of the genus Culex, undergoing a metamorphosis in water. The females have a proboscis armed with needlelike organs for penetrating the skin of animals. These are wanting in the males. In America they are generally called mosquitoes. See Mosquito. (Zool.)
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Any fly resembling a Culex in form or habits; esp., in America, a small biting fly of the genus Simulium and allies, as the buffalo gnat, the black fly, etc.
Phrases & Compounds
- Gnat catcher
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one of several species of small American singing birds, of the genus Polioptila, allied to the kinglets.
- Gnat flower
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the bee flower.
- Gnat hawk
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the European goatsucker; -- called also gnat owl.
- Gnat snapper
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a bird that catches gnats.
- Gnat strainer
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a person ostentatiously punctilious about trifles. Cf. Matt. xxiii. 24. — Matt. xxiii. 24.