drosophila
[ droh-sof-uh-luh, druh- ]
/ droʊˈsɒf ə lə, drə- /
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noun, plural dro·soph·i·las, dro·soph·i·lae [droh-sof-uh-lee, druh-]. /droʊˈsɒf əˌli, drə-/.
a fly of the genus Drosophila, especially D. melanogaster, used in laboratory studies of genetics and development.
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Origin of drosophila
Words nearby drosophila
drop zone, drosera, droshky, drosky, drosometer, drosophila, dross, drossy, Droste-Hülshoff, drought, droughty
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for drosophila
British Dictionary definitions for drosophila
drosophila
/ (drɒˈsɒfɪlə) /
noun plural -las or -lae (-ˌliː)
any small dipterous fly of the genus Drosophila, esp D. melanogaster, a species widely used in laboratory genetics studies: family Drosophilidae. They feed on plant sap, decaying fruit, etcAlso called: fruit fly, vinegar fly
Word Origin for drosophila
C19: New Latin, from Greek drosos dew, water + -phila; see -phile
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Scientific definitions for drosophila
drosophila
[ drō-sŏf′ə-lə ]
Any of various small fruit flies of the genus Drosophila, one species of which (D. melanogaster) is used extensively in genetic research to study patterns of inheritance and the functions of genes.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.