flypaper

American

[flahy-pey-per] / ˈflaɪˌpeɪ pər /

noun

paper designed to destroy flies by catching them on its sticky surface or poisoning them on contact.

flypaper British

/ ˈflaɪˌpeɪpə /

noun

paper with a sticky and poisonous coating, usually hung from the ceiling to trap flies

"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

Etymology

Origin of flypaper

First recorded in 1840–50; fly ¹ + paper

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.

It's made of sugars -- acylsugars, to be precise -- and acts as a sort of natural flypaper for would-be pests.

From Science Daily • Apr. 24, 2024

Det Con Stephen Williams from Dyfed Powys Police described a cluttered room, with flypaper full of flies next to a 16th birthday balloon and cards.

From BBC • Jan. 20, 2023

A strip of flypaper dangled from the ceiling.

From New York Times • Oct. 29, 2022

In a dank home in the village of Malotaranivka on the outskirts of Kramatorsk, speckled twists of flypaper hung from the living room ceiling.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 24, 2022

A flypaper roll entirely free of flies curled down from the ceiling not far from a sack that hung there too.

From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison

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