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Synonyms

gnat

American  
[nat] / næt /

noun

  1. any of certain small flies, especially the biting gnats or punkies of the family Ceratopogonidae, the midges of the family Chironomidae, and the black flies of the family Simuliidae.

  2. British. mosquito.

idioms

  1. strain at a gnat and swallow a camel, to fuss about trifles while ignoring more serious matters.

gnat British  
/ næt /

noun

  1. any of various small fragile biting dipterous insects of the suborder Nematocera, esp Culex pipiens ( common gnat ), which abounds near stagnant water

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • gnatlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of gnat

before 900; Middle English; Old English gnæt ( t ); cognate with German (dial.) Gnatze

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.