Lord of the Flies

American  

noun

1. a novel (1954) by William Golding.

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Lord of the Flies British  

noun

1. a name for Beelzebub

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Lord of the Flies Cultural  

1. (1954) A dark, allegorical novel by the British writer William Golding about a group of boys stranded on a desert island. Despite their attempts to establish a civilized democratic society, the boys eventually revert to totalitarianism and primitive savagery. Golding won the 1983 Nobel Prize for literature.

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Etymology

Origin of Lord of the Flies

translation of Hebrew: see _Beelzebub

Example Sentences

"I quite like the fact that my Lord of the Flies copy was a stolen copy," he notes with a touch of laughter.

From BBC • Feb. 2, 2026

Jack Thorne first read Lord of the Flies as a child.

From BBC • Feb. 2, 2026

She has them read books such as The Crucible and the Lord of the Flies to teach about the dangers of mass hysteria and group vilification.

From Slate • Dec. 5, 2025

“Even in going into ‘Boys State,’ people said, ‘It’s going to be Lord of the Flies.’

From Seattle Times • Apr. 3, 2024

I finish reading the third chapter of Lord of the Flies, which, it turns out, is not about flies at all.

From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass