fruit fly

noun

1. any of numerous small dipterous insects of the family Tephritidae, the larvae of which feed on the fruit of various plants.

2. vinegar fly.

3. drosophila.

fruit fly

noun

1. any small dipterous fly of the family Trypetidae , which feed on and lay their eggs in plant tissues See also gallfly

2. any dipterous fly of the genus Drosophila See drosophila

Word History and Origins

Origin of fruit fly¹

First recorded in 1745–55

Example Sentences

The researchers also used fruit flies as a model to explore how CPD mutations affect hearing.

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Even more strikingly, fruit flies genetically engineered to carry the same four naked mole-rat-specific mutations in human cGAS lived longer than flies with the normal version of the enzyme.

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The physicists needed to know the exact charge of the fruit flies used in the experimental model.

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Other familiar model organisms include mice, fruit flies and baker's yeast.

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That gene makes the gut of the female about 20% bigger than the gut in male fruit flies, and makes the female more prone to tumors by activating proteins that cause cell division.

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