Illustration of mayfly
: any of an order (Ephemeroptera) of insects with an aquatic nymph and a short-lived, fragile adult lacking mouthparts and having membranous, heavily veined wings and two or three long, threadlike tails
Note: the wings of the mayfly are held vertically above the body when closed.
called also ephemerid
Examples of mayfly in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Vitinha and Joao Neves flitted around like mayflies in love.
—
Jack Lang, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2026
Close-up Photographer of the Year announces 2025 winner A trippy image of a coral, a huge swarm of mayflies and a ravenous spider were among the winners of the Close-up Photographer of the Year award.
—Alexandra Banner, CNN Money, 6 Feb. 2026
Congressional Republicans are actually fractious at best, like a room of feral cats the rest of the time—which is why Trump passed only one major piece of legislation in his first term and Republican House speakers last as long as the average mayfly.
—Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2025
And these things are like mayflies, right?
—Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, 8 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mayfly
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Jack Lang, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2026
Close-up Photographer of the Year announces 2025 winner A trippy image of a coral, a huge swarm of mayflies and a ravenous spider were among the winners of the Close-up Photographer of the Year award.
—Alexandra Banner, CNN Money, 6 Feb. 2026
Congressional Republicans are actually fractious at best, like a room of feral cats the rest of the time—which is why Trump passed only one major piece of legislation in his first term and Republican House speakers last as long as the average mayfly.
—Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2025
And these things are like mayflies, right?
—Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, 8 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mayfly
Cite this Entry
“Mayfly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mayfly. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mayfly
noun
may·fly
-ˌflī 
: any of a group of insects that as adults live only a short time and have fragile wings
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