plural cooties
1
informal
: body louse
No, I haven't any cooties. I took off my shirt a few days ago to make a louse investigation, but found none of the creatures.—Donald E. Carey
During World War I, the "cootie" was credited with saving American soldiers' lives fighting in the trenches. Soldiers kept bending down to kill the bugs biting their legs, which kept them from getting wounded or killed.—The Avenue News (Essex Maryland)
also
: head louse
She bent into an enamel pan on an old pine table in the yard, and I lathered her head. "Dig in," she said. "Get them cooties where they live." —Richard Peck
2
cooties plural, slang, in children's play
: an imaginary contagious disease thought of especially as being passed between boys and girls
Every little girl knows that boys have cooties, and vice versa. One catches cooties by—eww!—touching.—Jane C. Hu
His worldview as a 5-year-old boy was that girls had cooties, and he wasn't interested.—Bill Lohmann
… their touch transfers cooties (which girls can give to boys and to girls but boys can only give to girls).—Naomi Gerstel
—sometimes used before another nounMy son, who is 19, told me the disease was so rampant when he was in grammar school that he had to get over 100 cootie shots [=pretend vaccinations against cooties].—Mark Patinkin
also
: a game involving the spread of cooties
I long for the simpler days when kids played cooties and Little League. —Jeff Jarvis
3
slang, humorous
: a germ or harmful microbe whether imaginary or real
I well recall a girlfriend of two decades ago who made bathing sound like a heinous character flaw. "How can you lie in water that's full of your own cooties and expect to get clean?" she said.—Jay Stuller
They'll meet online so we all can participate without crowding into a cootie-prone room.—Dakota Free Press (South Dakota)
4
Cootie plural Cooties
: a member of a service association of the Veterans of Foreign Wars that provides social support and entertainment to veterans and their families
"For years he took me … to Martha T. Berry hospital and others, as a 'Cootie' delivering loads of books, magazines, packages of goodies and toiletries. …"—Anita Kelly
From their bright uniforms to their fun-loving way of life, Cooties bring smiles and laughter to those "who most need it."—Janie Dyhouse
see also cootie catcher
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share