housefly

noun

house·​fly ˈhau̇s-ˌflī 

: a cosmopolitan dipteran fly (Musca domestica) that is often about human habitations and may act as a mechanical vector of diseases (such as typhoid fever)

also : any of various flies of similar appearance or habitat

Examples of housefly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But fear is just one proper reaction to The Fly, which finds so much more than cheap thrills in the story of a brilliant physicist who accidentally merges his own DNA with a housefly’s. —A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 28 Apr. 2025

Admirers of Ono’s work may also wonder why the documentary includes so many, often humorous phone calls in which Lennon-Ono associates talk about wrangling houseflies for an uncompleted art project. —Manohla Dargis, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2025

The scene quickly cuts away to someone picking the lock to Foggy's apartment building with a paper clip and using the same paper clip to kill a housefly. —Russel Honoré, Newsweek, 5 Mar. 2025

Its preferred host is generally the housefly (Musca domestica), though the fungus has also been known to infect fruit flies. —Scott Travers, Forbes, 24 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for housefly

• abscissae
• alibi
• alkali
• alumni
• amoebae
• amplify
• annuli
• beautify
• brachii
• butterfly
• calculi
• certify

Kids Definition

housefly

noun

house·​fly -ˌflī 

: a two-winged fly that is common about human living places and may spread disease (as typhoid fever)

Medical Definition

housefly

noun

house·​fly -ˌflī 

plural houseflies

: a cosmopolitan dipteran fly of the genus Musca (M. domestica) that is often found about human habitations and may act as a mechanical vector of diseases (as typhoid fever)

also : any of various flies of similar appearance or habitat