black fly

noun

any of the minute, black gnats of the dipterous family Simuliidae, having aquatic larvae.

Origin of black fly

First recorded in 1600–10

Also called buffalo gnat.

Words Nearby black fly

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use black fly in a sentence

There was some kind of an animal inside my shirt, and one that made a mosquito, black-fly, or flea seem tame.
Tales of lonely trails | Zane Grey
But each bite of the black fly makes a separate and distinct boil, that will not heal and be well in two months.
Woodcraft and Camping | George Washington Sears (Nessmuk)
Not one of us had succeeded in seeing the big black fly perching on the dome of the mason bee.
The Life of the Fly | J. Henri Fabre
The former has, therefore, to play second fiddle in Ceylon, where he is usually known to Europeans as the black fly-catcher.
Jungle Folk | Douglas Dewar
The wand of Herrmann never wrought such a wonder as did this magic touch of the little black fly upon the oak leaf.
Eye Spy | William Hamilton Gibson

British Dictionary definitions for blackfly (1 of 2)

blackfly

/ (ˈblækˌflaɪ) /

nounplural -flies

a black aphid, Aphis fabae, that infests beans, sugar beet, and other plants: Also called: bean aphid

British Dictionary definitions for black fly (2 of 2)

black fly

noun

any small blackish stout-bodied dipterous fly of the family Simuliidae, which sucks the blood of man, mammals, and birds: See also buffalo gnat

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

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