chigger

[ chig-er ]

noun

1. Also called harvest mite, redbug. the six-legged larva of a mite of the family Trombiculidae, parasitic on humans and other vertebrates, sucking blood and causing severe itching and acting as a vector of scrub typhus and other infectious diseases.
2. chigoe.

chigger

/ ˈtʃɪɡə /

noun

1. Also calledchigoeredbug the parasitic larva of any of various free-living mites of the family Trombidiidae, which causes intense itching of human skin
2. another name for the chigoe

Word History and Origins

Origin of chigger¹

1735–45, Americanism; variant of chigoe

Example Sentences

The IgE-mediated allergy is triggered after repeated bites from ticks or chigger mites that have bitten those mammals.

From Salon

Alderman Donne “Chigger” White said Tuesday that he was skeptical of Elk’s promise of having no additional plans for the property beyond the mosque.

From Washington Times

He even imagines a local doctor dissecting the chigger, the smallest creature visible to the human eye—and thus of course impossible to dissect.

From Literature

The idea that one might dissect a chigger was also ridiculous in 1610—but, thanks to the microscope, that too would soon be possible.

From Literature

She said she’d had chigger bites and put Campho-Phenique on each one before she went out in the sun.

From Seattle Times