Word
flea
US/ˈfɫi/
UK/flˈiː/
Definitions
01the insect
n. a very small jumping insect without wings that lives on the skin of animals and bites them to drink blood.
n. a small, wingless, parasitic insect of the order Siphonaptera, known for its hematophagous habits and jumping ability.
“The dog was scratching constantly because it had a flea on its back.”
“Veterinarians often recommend monthly preventative treatments to ensure that a single flea does not lead to a full-blown infestation in the home.”
Synonyms
02to remove insects
v. to clean or treat an animal to remove these tiny biting insects.
v. to remove fleas from an animal, typically through grooming or chemical treatment.
“We need to flea the cat before we let it back into the living room.”
“The rescue centre staff had to flea and wash every puppy that arrived from the abandoned farm.”
Technical
Usage
The verb is transitive and requires a direct object, usually a pet or livestock.
Etymology
From Middle English fle, from Old English flēah, flēa, from Proto-West Germanic flauh, from Proto-Germanic flauhaz (compare West Frisian flie, Low German Flo, Flö, Dutch vlo, German Floh, Icelandic fló), from pre-Germanic plóukos, plówkos, from or akin to Proto-Indo-European *plúsis (compare Latin pulex, Sanskrit प्लुषि (plúṣi)). The archaic plural fleen is from Middle English fleen, flen, from Old English flēan (“fleas”).
Alternative forms.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Idioms
flea in one's ear — A stinging rebuke or rebuff.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/flea