fruit fly
Americannoun
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any of numerous small dipterous insects of the family Tephritidae, the larvae of which feed on the fruit of various plants.
noun
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any small dipterous fly of the family Trypetidae , which feed on and lay their eggs in plant tissues See also gallfly
-
any dipterous fly of the genus Drosophila See drosophila
Etymology
Origin of fruit fly
First recorded in 1745–55
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.
Jefferis' team and collaborators painstakingly analysed every nerve cell, every wire and every connection in a male fruit fly.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
The male fruit fly release will take place in an area “50 square miles around the infestation,” the food and agriculture agency said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
The fruit fly connectome pointed to a different answer.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 10, 2026
At the same time, Lee and his colleagues were building a connectome of the fruit fly nerve cord, which controls the legs, wings, and other appendages while also processing sensory information.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 10, 2026
Not bad, he thought, though he noticed a dead fruit fly floating on the top.
From "The Lemonade War" by Jacqueline Davies
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
