horse fly

noun

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

1350–1400; Middle English horsfleeye

Words nearby horse fly

horse brass, horse chestnut, horse clam, horse conch, horse corn, horse fly, horse gentian, horse guard, horse latitudes, horse laugh, horse mackerel

Example sentences from the Web for horsefly

  • A horsefly (hoane) lived there at the edge of the mesa in a cavity.

    Seven Mohave Myths |A. L. Kroeber

  • As much human affection as you can squeeze out of the60 hind foot of a horsefly!

    The Wasted Generation |Owen Johnson

  • In 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 Ibanez

  • Tabanidae viridis was not sent just to plague us with horsefly bites.

    Tabby |Winston Marks

British Dictionary definitions for horsefly

horsefly
/ (ˈhɔːsˌflaɪ) /

noun plural -flies

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