sandfly
Americannoun
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sandflies
plural
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any of several small, bloodsucking, dipterous insects of the family Psychodidae that are vectors of several diseases of humans.
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any of several other small, bloodsucking, dipterous insects, as one of the family Heleidae or Simuliidae.
noun
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any of various small mothlike dipterous flies of the genus Phlebotomus and related genera: the bloodsucking females transmit diseases including leishmaniasis: family Psychodidae
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any of various similar and related flies
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sandfly
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.
See Examples For:
The sandfly commonly shelters in cracks in poorly plastered mud houses, anthills and soil fissures, multiplying during the rainy season after prolonged drought.
From Barron's ● Feb. 8, 2026
Over 90 sandfly species are known to transmit Leishmania parasites that are spread to humans through being bitten, but Lutzomyia longipalpis is themajor carrier of the disease in South America.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 11, 2024
Males of the sandfly, Lutzomyia longipalpis, use terpene pheromones to lure females and other males to mating sites.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 11, 2024
Finally, the doctors surmised that she had a rare tropical ailment called leishmaniasis, in which protozoa from the bite of a sandfly enter the bloodstream and attack the liver and spleen.
From Time Magazine Archive
There, in the spring of 1955, some 2000 acres of salt marsh in St. Lucie County were treated with dieldrin in an attempt to eliminate the larvae of the sandfly.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
A surge in cases among migrant workers at a quarry site in Mandera last year led authorities to restrict movement at dusk and dawn when sandflies are most active.
From Barron's ● Feb. 8, 2026
He jokes that the biggest challenge he faced on “Castaways” was “sharks, sandflies and millennials,” including one of his fellow competitors.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 30, 2023
In the region’s brief summer, sandflies and other biting insects make the most of the warmth by exploding in population and feeding on black bears, wolves and humans.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 26, 2019
The pet-disease watch list includes infections spread by the growing populations of mosquitoes, ticks, sandflies and fleas, such as heartworm, lungworm, Lyme disease and leishmaniasis.
From Nature ● Mar. 28, 2017
“If you’re not going in, Crow, the sandflies are,” Mrs. Aaronson said.
From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk
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.
