chigger
/ˈt͡ʃɪɡɚ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.55 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A harvest mite (Trombiculidae spp.), a very small, red mite endemic to the Midwestern and Southeastern US, the infestation of which causes intense itching.
noun
An East Asian person who behaves in ways similar to a stereotypical urban African American.
American usage; Derogatory; Offensive; Slang
Example Sentences
- "After we had been out about four days the entire army was attacked by ‘chiggers’. They are tiny insects, millions of them, who have made their home on the Kansas prairie."
- "Dr. Lareau, an emergency medicine physician at Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital in Virginia, had seen these marks once or twice before on patients. She knew what had caused them. They were from chiggers, a species of tiny, reddish-brown mites able to leave bites that remain itchy for days or weeks."
- "—He's not black, Stacia Jacobs who smelled like pee said. — He's yellow and black. He's a chigger. Do you know what a chigger is? It's a chink and a nigger."
Etymology
Word Breakdown
- Root: -, siko, *tikô
Usage
- American usage
- Derogatory
- Offensive
- Slang