two-winged insect whose female has a long proboscis to pierce the skin and suck the blood of humans and animals
"The buzzing mosquito landed on my arm, using its sharp proboscis to pierce my skin and drink my blood."
A small flying insect of the family Culicidae, the females of which bite humans and animals and suck blood, leaving an itching bump on the skin, and sometimes carrying diseases like malaria and yellow fever.
"In early colonial records, the term mosquito was sometimes used as an archaic spelling or variant to refer to the Miskito people rather than the insect."
The De Havilland Mosquito, a Second World War military aircraft.
Archaic form of Miskito.
In plain English: A mosquito is a tiny flying insect that bites people and animals to drink their blood, often causing itchy bumps or spreading diseases like malaria.
"The mosquito buzzed loudly near my ear while I was trying to sleep outside."
Usage: The plural form is "mosquitoes," though "mosquitos" is occasionally heard in casual speech despite being less standard. When used as a verb, note that it describes low-altitude flight rather than biting behavior.
To fly close to the ground, seemingly without a course.
"The mosquito buzzed erratically just above the grass as it searched for its next meal."
In plain English: There is no verb form of mosquito because it only functions as a noun to describe an insect that bites people and animals.
"Mosquito didn't work because everyone was too busy to listen."
A settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador
"The historical records mention an early fishing mosquito that served as a temporary settlement along the coast of Newfoundland before it was abandoned."
The word "mosquito" comes from Spanish, where it originally meant "gnat." It is a diminutive form of the Spanish word for fly, which traces back to Latin and ultimately to an ancient root meaning "fly" or "stinging insect."