lone star tick

noun

: an ixodid tick (Amblyomma americanum) of the southern, central, and eastern U.S. that attacks mammals and birds, is a vector of several diseases (such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever and ehrlichiosis), and in which the adult female has a single white spot on the back

Examples of lone star tick in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Where the three tick species linked to red meat allergies are found The eastern and southern U.S. is home to the majority of lone star tick populations. —Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2025

The lone star tick, mostly native to the Southeast portion of the United States, was first discovered in 2017. —Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 28 Mar. 2025

Those reports found cases of alpha-gal syndrome in Washington and Maine in two women who hadn’t traveled to areas where the lone star tick typically lives. —Kaitlin Sullivan, NBC News, 21 Mar. 2025

The findings showed that lone star ticks and longhorned ticks have both spread in population across the state. —Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 28 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for lone star tick

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

Medical Definition

lone star tick

noun

ˈlōn-ˈstär- 

: an ixodid tick of the genus Amblyomma (A. americanum) of the southern, central, and eastern United States that attacks mammals and birds, is a vector of several diseases (as Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis, and anaplasmosis), and in which the adult female has a single white spot on the back