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blow fly

or blow·fly

noun
  1. any of numerous dipterous insects of the family Calliphoridae that deposit their eggs or larvae on carrion, excrement, etc., or in wounds of living animals.
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Origin of blow fly

First recorded in 1815–25
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for blowfly

Historical Examples

  • The house-fly has a life-history and immature stages like the blowfly, but its eggs are deposited on manure.

    Elementary Zoology, Second Edition

    Vernon L. Kellogg

  • He had eased his uncle's labours by crushing the wasp, and averted his aunt's displeasure by obliterating the blowfly.

    A Drake by George!

    John Trevena

  • These must have been the larv of a blowfly similar to that which has been mentioned by others as inhabiting Sarracenia.

    The Romance of Plant Life

    G. F. Scott Elliot

  • A blowfly crawled over a caribou carcass, and possibly a few black flies were abroad.

  • He swore savagely under his breath, and dabbed viciously at a blowfly that suddenly became noisy on the window-pane.

British Dictionary definitions for blowfly

blowfly

noun plural -flies
  1. 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 CalliphoridaeAlso called: bluebottle
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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