fruit fly
Americannoun
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any of numerous small dipterous insects of the family Tephritidae, the larvae of which feed on the fruit of various plants.
noun
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any small dipterous fly of the family Trypetidae , which feed on and lay their eggs in plant tissues See also gallfly
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any dipterous fly of the genus Drosophila See drosophila
Etymology
Origin of fruit fly
First recorded in 1745–55
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the field, those 20-inch black-painted aluminum wheels wouldn’t stay pretty for long; those running boards would have the life expectancy of a fruit fly.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026
Finally, a worm needed the encouragement of a gentle puff of air or a slight mechanical disturbance before making the leap toward a suspended fruit fly.
From Science Daily • Oct. 15, 2025
The goal is to keep the oriental fruit fly from spreading to more crops while working to eliminate the pest.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2024
We have a million times as many brain cells, or neurons, than the fruit fly which was studied.
From BBC • Oct. 2, 2024
It was nothing like a fruit fly and wanted nothing to do with fruit flies.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
