blowfly

blow·fly

noun \-ˌflī\

Definition of BLOWFLY

: any of a family (Calliphoridae) of dipteran flies (as the bluebottle or screwworm) that deposit their eggs especially on meat or in wounds

First Known Use of BLOWFLY

1812

Rhymes with BLOWFLY

aby, agley, air-dry, Alai, ally, Altai, anti, apply, assai, awry, aye-aye, Bacchae, Baha'i, banzai, barfly, bee fly, Belgae, belie, bigeye, big lie, black eye, blackfly, black tie, blow-dry, blowby, blue-sky, Bo Hai, bone-dry, bonsai, botfly, Brunei, buckeye, bugeye, bye-bye, canaille, catchfly, cat's-eye, Chennai, chess pie, Chiang Mai, cockeye, cockshy, come by, comply, cow pie, crane fly, cross-eye, deadeye, decry, deep-fry, deep-sky, deerfly, defy, Delphi, deny, descry, do by, dong quai, drip-dry, drop by, dry eye, dry fly, elhi, Eli, espy, face fly, firefly, fish-eye, flesh fly, flyby, fly high, forby, freeze-dry, frogeye, fruit fly, gadfly, gallfly, get by, GI, glass eye, go by, good-bye, greenfly, grisaille, gun-shy, Haggai, Hawkeye, heel fly, hereby, hi-fi, hog-tie, horn fly, horsefly, housefly, imply, jai alai, July, Karzai, Kasai, knee-high, lanai, Lanai, lay-by, lay by, Lehigh, let fly, Levi, lie by, magpie, mai tai, mao-tai, Masai, mayfly, medfly, mind's eye, Moirai, mooneye, Mumbai, my eye, nearby, necktie, nilgai, nisi, outbye, outcry, oxeye, pad thai, Panay, panfry, Parcae, piece-dye, pigsty, pinkeye, Po Hai, pop eye, pop fly, potpie, put by, Qinghai, quasi, rabbi, red-eye, rely, reply, rib eye, ride high, rocaille, rough-dry, run dry, Sakai, sand fly, sci-fi, screw eye, semi, Sendai, serai, set by, shanghai, Shanghai, sheep's eye, shoofly, shut-eye, Sinai, sky-high, small-fry, stand by, standby, stir-fry, string tie, supply, swear by, terai, test-fly, thereby, tie-dye, titi, tongue-tie, Transkei, twist tie, two-ply, untie, vat dye, Versailles, walleye, well-nigh, whereby, whitefly, wild rye, wise guy

blow·fly

noun \-ˌflī\   (Medical Dictionary)

plural ; blow·flies

Medical Definition of BLOWFLY

: any dipteran fly (as a bluebottle or a screwworm) of the family Calliphoridae

blowfly

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Any member of the dipteran family Calliphoridae, including the screwworm and the bluebottle, greenbottle, and cluster flies. Metallic blue, green, or bronze, and noisy in flight, blowflies resemble the housefly in size and habits. The larvae usually feed on decaying flesh and sometimes infest open wounds. They may help prevent infection by cleaning away dead flesh, but may also destroy healthy tissue. Blowflies were once used to treat gangrene and a human bone disease and were used in World War I to clean soldiers' wounds. Some species seriously hurt or kill livestock by massive infestation or by carrying diseases such as anthrax, dysentery, and jaundice.