fruit bat

noun

: any of a family (Pteropodidae of the suborder Megachiroptera) of often large tropical and subtropical Old World bats that feed on ripe fruit, pollen, and nectar and that usually use visual navigation rather than echolocation

called also flying fox

Illustration of fruit bat

• fruit bat with fruit

Examples of fruit bat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Large fruit bats are believed to be the reservoir for Marburg. —Mark Kortepeter, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025

The virus is initially transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, according to the WHO. —Robert Hart, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024

That deprives the island’s native fruit bats of food, forcing them to forage elsewhere. —Byrefael Kubersky, science.org, 20 Mar. 2025

Continue to the mysterious Voodoo Cave and Hato Caves, filled with ancient stalactites and stalagmites, as well as a colony of harmless fruit bats. —Curaçao Tourist Board, AFAR Media, 26 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for fruit bat

• begat
• bobcat
• chitchat
• doormat
• ducat
• eclat
• format
• hazmat
• muskrat
• nonfat
• polecat
• thereat

Kids Definition

fruit bat

noun

: any of numerous large Old World fruit-eating bats of warm regions

called also flying fox