horse fly

American  

noun

1. any bloodsucking, usually large fly of the family Tabanidae, especially of the genus Tabanus, a serious pest of horses, cattle, etc.

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Etymology

Origin of horse fly

1350–1400; Middle English horsfleeye

Example Sentences

At the president’s direction, the attorney general is investigating members of the FBI who have investigated the corruption that surrounds Trump like a cloud of horse flies.

From Washington Post

In the meantime, people planning on being around horses or horse flies may want to consider wearing zebra print rather than a solid to avoid being bitten.

From New York Times

Researchers on Wednesday described experiments demonstrating that horse flies have a difficult time landing on zebras while easily landing on uniformly colored horses.

From Reuters

There is a wasp named after William Shakespeare, a horse fly named after Beyoncé and a lichen named after Dolly Parton.

From Seattle Times

But many in the CIA knew the resistance was destined to fail; the Hmong were horse flies trying to take down a water buffalo.

From BBC