blowfly

noun

blow·​fly ˈblō-ˌflī How to pronounce blowfly (audio)
: any of a family (Calliphoridae) of dipteran flies (such as the bluebottle or screwworm) that deposit their eggs especially on meat or in wounds

Examples of blowfly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web To capture the blowfly’s beating wings, researchers increased the resolution of the technique, and tethered the blowfly to a rotating table. Carl Engelking, Discover Magazine, 26 Mar. 2014 Studies in Israel, Malaysia and India all suggest that blowflies are effective at pollinating mangoes, while trials in the US and New Zealand showed that the European blue blowfly (Calliphora vicina) produced as good a yield of leek and carrot seed as bees. Stephanie Pain, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Mar. 2021 The blue, green and yellow muscles are the blowfly's steering muscles. Carl Engelking, Discover Magazine, 26 Mar. 2014 The blowfly’s secret to flight wasn’t a complete mystery to scientists. Carl Engelking, Discover Magazine, 26 Mar. 2014 Entomologists at North Carolina State University have even genetically tweaked blowfly maggots to also produce a human growth factor that could boost their healing powers. Marion Renault, The Atlantic, 2 June 2021 There may be a reason for that—some research has suggested the behavior keeps wounds clean and free of blowflies, a decidedly less friendly hitchhiker. National Geographic, 27 Feb. 2018 So the investigator had every worker lay down his tool in a field, and observed that just one sickle attracted blowflies, which were known to seek out blood. Jonathon Keats, Discover Magazine, 26 June 2017 In spring and summer, the peak seasons for insects like blowflies that are attracted to carrion, the pigs decomposed more rapidly than the human subjects. Erica Goode, New York Times, 13 June 2016

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'blowfly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1744, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of blowfly was in 1744

Dictionary Entries Near blowfly

Cite this Entry

“Blowfly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blowfly. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

blowfly

noun
blow·​fly ˈblō-ˌflī How to pronounce blowfly (audio)
: any of various two-winged flies (as a bluebottle) that deposit their eggs on meat or in wounds

Medical Definition

blowfly

noun
blow·​fly -ˌflī How to pronounce blowfly (audio)
plural blowflies
: any dipteran fly (as a bluebottle or a screwworm) of the family Calliphoridae

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