horse fly
any bloodsucking, usually large fly of the family Tabanidae, especially of the genus Tabanus, a serious pest of horses, cattle, etc.
Origin of horse fly
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use horse fly in a sentence
As much human affection as you can squeeze out of the60 hind foot of a horsefly!
The Wasted Generation | Owen JohnsonIn spite of the humid atmosphere, a buzzing like that of a horsefly, hummed several times above the two visitors.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse | Vicente Blasco IbanezThe common horsefly, which is so troublesome in the shady lanes of England, belongs to this same genus.
A Naturalist's Voyage Round the World | Charles DarwinA horsefly (hoane) lived there at the edge of the mesa in a cavity.
Seven Mohave Myths | A. L. KroeberTabanidae viridis was not sent just to plague us with horsefly bites.
Tabby | Winston Marks
British Dictionary definitions for horsefly
/ (ˈhɔːsˌflaɪ) /
any large stout-bodied dipterous fly of the family Tabanidae, the females of which suck the blood of mammals, esp horses, cattle, and man: Also called: gadfly, cleg
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
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