Dictionary

deflea en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /diːˈfliː/

Etymology

From de- + flea (noun).

Meanings

1. (transitive) To rid of fleas.
   • I had to deflea our cat with a flea comb, even though it wears a flea collar.
   • I can get her defleaed. That wouldn't be a problem. I can pay for it now that I've got an after-school job. And Mom's a sucker for strays. 2008, Bev Cooke., Feral, page 17:
   • I had my own dog, but I also caught every stray dog in the neighborhood, washed and defleaed it, and anointed it with cologne (causing a great rumpus when discovered by one of my sisters from whom the cheap scent had been appropriated). 1989, Stuart Brent, Seven Stairs: An Adventure of the Heart, page 132:
   • She cares personally for her dogs, feeds them, defleas them, shouts crossly at them when they misbehave. 1977, The New York Times Biographical Service, volume 8, page 57:
   • House, kennels, bedding, runs, all have to be defleaed, as well as the dogs. Note: If the dogs have to be wormed, it is wise to postpone any defleaing efforts for three weeks after worming. 1986, Pure-bred Dogs American Kennel Gazette, volume 103, page 95:
   • 2009, Louis de Bernières, The Death of Miss Agatha Feakes, [originally published in 2009, Notwithstanding], Storycuts, 2011, unnumbered page, She sits in her armchair, and, one by one, she defleas her cats.
   • The DDT powder does not kill the rats; it merely defleas them and lessens the likelihood of the spread of typhus fever from rat to man. 1948, University of Florida Publications in Experimental Applied Economics, volume 3, page 124:
   • A fine metal flea comb is an added aid in defleaing a cat, especially if you are the type who gains satisfaction from “cracking” fleas caught in the comb, or from trying to drown them in a glass of water! 1969, Elizabeth Charles, How to Keep Your Pet Healthy, page 99:

Forms

Translations (9)

pl odpchlić (to rid of fleas) · es espulgar (to rid of fleas) · de entflohen (to rid of fleas) · it spulciare (to rid of fleas) · eu zorriak kendu (to rid of fleas) · cim vlöogan (to rid of fleas) · el ψυλλίζω (to rid of fleas) · fr épucer (to rid of fleas) · de flöhen (to rid of fleas)