mite

/maɪt/

/maɪt/

Other forms: mites

Mite is one of many words for a very small amount, like a bit and a jot. A mite is teeny-weeny and itty-bitty. It's not much at all.

Put away your ruler, because you can't measure a mite any more than you can measure a smidge, a tad, a speck, a tough, or a pinch — all English words for a tiny amount. Such words are useful when making polite requests. If someone's just barely blocking your car, you might ask them to move theirs just a mite. If you say you'll be back in just a mite, you won't keep the person waiting long.

Definitions of mite

1. noun

   any of numerous very small to minute arachnids often infesting animals or plants or stored foods
   types:

   web-spinning mite

   a mite that spins a web

   acarid

   very small free-living arachnid that is parasitic on animals or plants; related to ticks

   trombidiid

   mite that in all stages feeds on other arthropods

   trombiculid

   mite that as nymph and adult feeds on early stages of small arthropods but whose larvae are parasitic on terrestrial vertebrates

   acarus, genus Acarus

   any of several mites of the order Acarina

   itch mite, sarcoptid

   whitish mites that attack the skin of humans and other animals

   rust mite

   any of several varieties of mite that burrow into plants and cause a reddish-brown discoloration on the leaves or fruit

   spider mite, tetranychid

   web-spinning mite that attacks garden plants and fruit trees

   chigger, harvest mite, jigger, redbug

   larval mite that sucks the blood of vertebrates including human beings causing intense irritation

   Panonychus ulmi, red spider, red spider mite

   small web-spinning mite; a serious orchard pest

   type of:

   acarine

   mite or tick
2. noun

   a slight but appreciable amount
   synonyms: hint, jot, pinch, soupcon, speck, tinge, touch, trifle

   types:

   snuff

   a pinch of smokeless tobacco inhaled at a single time

   type of:

   small indefinite amount, small indefinite quantity

   an indefinite quantity that is below average size or magnitude