black-legged tick

noun

ˈblak-ˈlegd- 

-ˈlāgd-;

-ˈle-gəd-,

-ˈlā-

: either of two ixodid ticks:

a

: deer tick

b

: a tick (Ixodes pacificus) of the western U.S. and British Columbia that is the vector of several diseases (such as Lyme disease)

Examples of black-legged tick in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The most common way to get Lyme disease is through the bite of the black-legged tick (also called the deer tick) or the western black-legged tick.1 These ticks carry and spread the bacterial strains that cause Lyme disease, specifically Borrelia burgdorferi and, rarely, Borrelia mayonii. —Jennifer Welsh Published, Verywell Health, 3 Feb. 2025

Certain species, such as the black-legged tick (also known as the deer tick), are known to transmit Lyme disease, which can affect both dogs and humans. —Jake Parks, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2024

In the seven-year span of the survey, cases of babesiosis increased an average of 9% per year—due, the researchers concluded, to a warming world which is expanding the range of the black-legged tick, the principal babesiosis vector. —Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 16 Oct. 2024

Lyme disease is spread by the bite of a black-legged tick. —Linda Carroll, NBC News, 18 Nov. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1944, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for black-legged tick

• andesitic
• dizygotic
• endocytic
• impolitic
• lymphocytic
• martensitic
• pegmatitic
• phagocytic
• pharisaic
• realpolitik
• rhyolitic
• actinic

Medical Definition

black-legged tick

noun

ˈblak-ˈlegd-, -ˈlāgd-; -ˈleg-əd-, -ˈlā-gəd- 

: either of two ixodid ticks:

a

: deer tick

b

: western black-legged tick