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hangingfly

American  
[hang-ing-flahy] / ˈhæŋ ɪŋˌflaɪ /

noun

PLURAL

hangingflies

  1. a small, long-legged scorpionfly of the family Bittacidae, resembling the crane fly but having four wings rather than two and hanging hang from leaves or twigs by the front or middle legs while using the hind legs to seize prey, mostly small flies. fly.

Etymology

Origin of hangingfly

hanging + fly 1

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.

Bittacus chlorostigma hangingfly with carpenter ant prey.

From Scientific American

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.