blowfly

British

/ ˈbləʊˌflaɪ /

noun

Also called: bluebottle. any of various dipterous flies of the genus Calliphora and related genera that lay their eggs in rotting meat, dung, carrion, and open wounds: family Calliphoridae

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Most blowflies are harmless and play an important role by breaking down dead animals.

From Science Daily

Instead, insects -- particularly carrion beetles and blowflies -- act as microbe carriers.

From Science Daily

"It could have been DNA from a blowfly," Holmes says.

From Salon

Brother of the blowfly & godhead, you work magic Over battlefields, In slabs of bad pork & flophouses.

From New York Times

The process of decay is driven by scavengers, in nature beginning with vultures and blowflies and ending with fungi and bacteria.

From New York Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023