Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of various tiny two-winged flies, especially those that sometimes form swarms.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A bird: same as
knot . - noun A small two-winged fly, Culex pipiens, of the family Culicidæ, suborder Nemocera, and order Diptera, called in America mosquito.
- noun Any other insect of the family Culicidæ.—
- noun A nemocerous dipterous insect; a midge.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) 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 . Seemosquito . - noun 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.
- noun (Zoöl.) one of several species of small American singing birds, of the genus Polioptila, allied to the kinglets.
- noun the bee flower.
- noun (Zoöl.) the European goatsucker; -- called also
gnat owl . - noun (Zoöl.) a bird that catches gnats.
- noun a person ostentatiously punctilious about trifles. Cf. Matt. xxiii. 24.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Any small
insect of the orderDiptera , specifically within the suborderNematocera .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun (British usage) mosquito
- noun any of various small biting flies: midges; biting midges; black flies; sand flies
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Palin's book, co-written by Nancy French, covers her family and her mom's run for vice president, but focuses on Johnston, whom she calls a "gnat ... constantly spreading false accusations" against her family.
Bristol Palin Says She Lost Her Virginity While Drunk in New Memoir
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Palin's book, co-written by Nancy French, covers her family and her mom's run for vice president, but focuses on Johnston, whom she calls a "gnat ... constantly spreading false accusations" against her family.
Bristol Palin Says She Lost Her Virginity While Drunk in New Memoir
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Swinging the sledgehammer to swat at a gnat is sure to cause some collateral damage.
The Volokh Conspiracy » Immigrants and Nazis, Communists and Cardinals
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Palin also ridicules her former fiance, Levi Johnston who she describes as a "gnat ... constantly spreading false accusations against our family."
Bristol Palin Slams Meghan, Cindy McCain In New Book 'Not Afraid Of Life' (VIDEO)
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So please, please stop giving this woman an opportunity to bother us .... a gnat is less irritating!!
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Swinging the sledgehammer to swat at a gnat is sure to cause some collateral damage.
The Volokh Conspiracy » Immigrants and Nazis, Communists and Cardinals
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All I can say is that there has been a steady decline in British use of the word gnat in my lifetime.
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The gnat is a case in point: the water-bug, common in our ponds and ditches, is another.
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With what an air he added: 'E gia il moschino e conte' -- Already the gnat is a count. '
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With what an air he added: 'E gia il moschino e conte' -- Already the gnat is a count. '
oroboros commented on the word gnat
Tang in reverse.
November 3, 2007
erinmckean commented on the word gnat
according to Tony, "A gnat is inelegant code. It's not quite a bug."
September 30, 2011