sawfly

[ saw-flahy ]

/ ˈsɔˌflaɪ /

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noun, plural saw·flies.

any of numerous hymenopterous insects of the family Tenthredinidae, the female of which has a sawlike ovipositor for inserting the eggs in the tissues of a host plant.

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Origin of sawfly

First recorded in 1765–75; saw¹ + fly¹

Words nearby sawfly

sawdust, sawdust trail, sawdusty, sawed-off, sawfish, sawfly, saw grass, sawhorse, saw log, sawm, sawmill

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use sawfly in a sentence

Apparently the ichneumon fly (Ophion obscurum), and not the true sawfly, is meant.
A Thin Ghost and Others|M. R. (Montague Rhodes) James
It would be difficult to find any obvious connexion between music and the Giant Sawfly.
The Romance of Plant Life|G. F. Scott Elliot
Enemies: The larch is subject to the attacks of a sawfly, which has killed many trees of the American species.
Studies of Trees|Jacob Joshua Levison
With this instrument the female sawfly cuts a slit in the stem or leaf of a plant, into which she introduces her egg.
On the Origin and Metamorphoses of Insects|Sir John Lubbock

These sawfly larvae need looking after and can be killed by spraying.
Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the|Various

British Dictionary definitions for sawfly

sawfly

/ (ˈsɔːˌflaɪ) /

noun plural -flies

any of various hymenopterous insects of the family Tenthredinidae and related families, the females of which have a sawlike ovipositor

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012