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
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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.
In the field, those 20-inch black-painted aluminum wheels wouldn’t stay pretty for long; those running boards would have the life expectancy of a fruit fly.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026
The study also demonstrates the value of fruit fly models for studying neurological diseases, including age-related conditions, Zhai noted.
From Science Daily • Oct. 25, 2025
All that precipitation also spurs the spread of pests like the fruit fly and the growth of fungal diseases, all of which are becoming a growing problem as the planet warms.
From Salon • Jan. 30, 2025
But it wasn't until October that scientists studying the brain of a fruit fly mapped the position, shape and connections of every single one of its 130,000 cells and 50 million connections.
From BBC • Dec. 28, 2024
It was nothing like a fruit fly and wanted nothing to do with fruit flies.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
