biter

[ bahy-ter ]

noun

1. a person or animal that bites, especially habitually or viciously:

   That dog is a biter.

2. Chiefly Chesapeake Bay. the larger claw of a crab.
3. Obsolete. a cheat; swindler; fraud.

Word History and Origins

Origin of biter¹

A Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; bite, -er ¹

Example Sentences

"Not that the economy wasn't relevant in those times, but there were other huge things going on," he said, describing the current race as a "nail biter".

From BBC

Vector control officials in Southern California are starting to release sterilized male mosquitoes to combat the summertime onslaught of ankle biters.

From Los Angeles Times

“It was a nail biter,” says Jamie Rankin, an astrophysicist at Princeton University and Voyager’s deputy project scientist.

From Science Magazine

Orange County expects to release its “ankle biter fighters,” as Brannon called them, in Mission Viejo this fall or next spring.

From Los Angeles Times

Having in mind that the toe biter is an iconic species accompanied by creepy stories concerning its encounters with humans, the authors assume that it is unlikely that it had gone unnoticed for too long.

From Science Daily