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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The fruit flies are attracted to them and get stuck on the sticky glue. Emma Ashe, Southern Living, 24 Oct. 2025 To test the effect of static charge on airborne nematodes, Ortega-Jiménez tethered living fruit flies to a live copper wire and adjusted the voltage between 100 and 700 volts, comparable to what insects would generate in the wild. Cody Cottier, Scientific American, 23 Oct. 2025 Each organoid, roughly the size of a fruit fly’s brain, contains about 10,000 neurons, a minuscule fraction of the 100 billion in a human brain. Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2025 In a previous study, the team pinpointed a group of about 200 nerve cells in fruit fly brains that are active when the bugs are making decisions. New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for fruit fly

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1753, in the meaning defined above

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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fruit fly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fruit%20fly. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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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