fruit fly

noun

: any of various small dipteran flies (such as a drosophila) whose larvae feed on fruit or decaying vegetable matter

Examples of fruit fly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Several restaurants had one or more follow-up inspections and fruit flies and gnats were observed in the latest Plano inspections of businesses and other locations that serve food, according to city data. Nicole Lopez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Apr. 2024 Scientists began by examining the gene expression in individual cells from model organisms like fruit flies and mice. Quanta Magazine, 13 Dec. 2023 But last month, employees stripped dozens of them and placed them at the rear of the lot, away from the public, as part of an all-out quarantine effort aimed at eradicating one of the most destructive pests in the world: the Mediterranean fruit fly. Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2023 This map shows the quarantine boundary of a Los Angeles neighborhood after invasive Tau fruit flies were discovered. Li Cohen, CBS News, 1 Aug. 2023 The first thing to consider is that fruit flies are very different from us humans. William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024 Unlike all the other species tested in the lab experiments, oleander hawk moths and Drosophila fruit flies flew normally in the presence of light. Rachel Nuwer, Scientific American, 30 Jan. 2024 The entire genome was sequenced in 2008, and the beetle shares between 10,000 and 15,000 genes with the fruit fly (Drosophila), another workhorse of genetics research. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 27 Dec. 2023 For the most part, scientists have studied aspects of procreation in space only in animals, including fruit flies, frogs, newts, geckos, aquatic crustaceans, quails, rats, mice and, intriguingly, rams. Kim Tingley, New York Times, 12 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fruit fly.' 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

circa 1753, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fruit fly was circa 1753

Dictionary Entries Near fruit fly

Cite this Entry

“Fruit fly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fruit%20fly. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

fruit fly

noun
: any of various small two-winged flies whose larvae feed on fruit or decaying vegetable matter

Medical Definition

fruit fly

noun
: any of various small dipteran flies (as a drosophila) whose larvae feed on fruit or decaying vegetable matter

More from Merriam-Webster on fruit fly

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