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fruit bat

noun
  1. any fruit-eating bat, especially of the suborder Megachiroptera, of tropical regions throughout the Old World, typically having erect, catlike ears and large eyes adapted for night vision, and either tailless or with a rudimentary tail, the numerous species ranging in wingspan from 10 inches to 5 feet (25 cm to 1.5 meters).
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Origin of fruit bat

First recorded in 1875–80
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for fruit bat

Historical Examples

  • From a number of high trees, thousands of flying foxes (fruit-bat, Pteropus medius) are suspended.

    Castes and Tribes of Southern India

    Edgar Thurston

British Dictionary definitions for fruit bat

fruit bat

noun
  1. any large Old World bat of the suborder Megachiroptera, occurring in tropical and subtropical regions and feeding on fruitCompare insectivorous bat
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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