chigoe

IPA/ˈtʃɪɡ.ər/
IPA/-ɚ/

chigoe — noun

  • chigoesingular
  • chigoesplural

1. a very small tropical flea that digs into the skin of animals and people, where

1.nounC2
Definition

a very small tropical flea that digs into the skin of animals and people, where the female lives and lays eggs, often causing a painful swelling around the entry point.

Example

Takeshi got a chigoe bite on his foot after walking barefoot on a Brazilian beach.

collocation: chigoe bite + barefoot on [beach]

The farmer found a swelling on his ankle from a chigoe burrowing under the skin.

Common collocations
  • chigoe infestation
  • chigoe removal
  • prevent chigoes
  • get / pick up chigoes
Synonyms
  • sand flea

    more general term; can refer to any small flea found on beaches, not only Tunga penetrans

  • jigger

    regional name used in Africa and the Caribbean for the same insect

Grammar Patterns

chigoe + verb (singular / plural)

Usage Note

Only the female chigoe burrows into the skin — the male does not. The feet and toes are the most common sites of infestation, especially in sandy or dusty ground.

Common Mistakes

I got chigger bites on my foot in the sand.' (when meaning the burrowing flea)
I got chigoe bites on my foot in the sand.
'Chigger' refers to a mite that causes itchy bumps on the legs, not a flea that burrows into the skin.

2. a very tiny creature related to spiders that clings to the skin of animals and p

2.nounC2
Definition

a very tiny creature related to spiders that clings to the skin of animals and people in grassy areas and feeds on skin cells, leaving small red marks that feel very itchy.

Example

Andrés got red bumps on his legs after sitting in tall grass — chigoe bites.

collocation: chigoe bites from sitting in [location]

Lakshmi scratched the red marks on her arms caused by chigoe mites in the grass.

Common collocations
  • chigoe mite
  • chigoe rash
  • chigoe bumps
  • chigoe bites
Synonyms
  • chigger

    the standard American English name for the same mite

  • harvest mite

    less common name for the larval stage of certain trombiculid mites

Grammar Patterns

chigoe + verb (singular / plural)

Usage Note

Unlike sense 1, a chigoe mite does not burrow into the skin — it attaches to the surface and injects saliva that causes the itching and redness. Often called chigger in American English.

Common Mistakes

A chigoe burrowed into my toenail and caused a rash.' (confusing the flea with the mite)
A chigoe mite attached to my leg and left itchy red bumps.
The flea (sense 1) burrows; the mite (sense 2) stays on the skin surface.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While 'flea' is the broad term for any small blood-feeding jumping insect, 'chigoe' names a specific tropical species (Tunga penetrans) whose female burrows into the skin of the host. 'Sand flea' is a looser common name for the chigoe found on beaches, but it can also cover other small beach fleas that do not burrow. 'Jigger' is a regional name used in Africa and the Caribbean for the same insect — you might hear a Kenyan farmer say 'I have a jigger in my foot.' The word 'chigger' is the one most often confused with 'chigoe': a chigger is a mite (not a flea) that lives in grass and causes an itchy rash on the surface of the skin, rather than burrowing into it. For example: 'The doctor removed a chigoe from the patient's toe under local anaesthesia,' versus 'The hiker's chigger rash cleared up with antihistamine cream.'

flea ↗sand fleajigger ↗chigger ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • chigoe under the skin
  • chigoe in the foot
  • infested with chigoes

Prepositions

  • with chigoes
  • from chigoes
  • against chigoes
  • under the skin of

Etymology

Cariban / ArawakanCaribbean CreoleEnglish

The word 'chigoe' comes from a Caribbean Indigenous language, probably Carib or Arawak, where a similar word named the burrowing flea. It entered English through Caribbean creole usage in the 17th and 18th centuries as European colonisers encountered the insect in tropical America. Across different regions the spelling shifted — 'chigoe', 'jigger', and 'chigger' all trace back to the same source, though 'chigger' later came to refer to a different mite rather than the flea.

First known use

1691

1691, in the meaning defined at sense 1