Definition of FLEA

flea

Plural: fleas, fleen

Noun

  • A small, wingless, parasitic insect known for its jumping ability.
  • any wingless bloodsucking parasitic insect noted for ability to leap
  • A small, wingless, parasitic insect of the order Siphonaptera, renowned for its bloodsucking habits and jumping abilities.
  • A thing of no significance.

Verb

  • To remove fleas from (an animal).
  • Obsolete spelling of flay.

Examples

  • He found a FLEA of an opening on the board, just big enough for a two-letter word.

Origin / 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”).

Synonyms

deflea

Scrabble Score: 7

flea: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
flea: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
flea: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 8

flea: valid Words With Friends Word