Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

blowfly

/ˈbloʊˌflaɪ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 1.77 in modern English

Syllables: blowfly
IPA: /ˈbloʊˌflaɪ/

18

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

1

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of various flies of the family Calliphoridae that lay their eggs in rotting meat, dung, or open wounds.

Example Sentences

"The flies that troubled me most were a large kind of blue-bottle or blow-fly. These settled in swarms on my bird skins when first put out to dry, filling their plumage with masses of eggs, which, if neglected, the next day produced maggots."
"The blowfly was her next victim, but an unexciting one. Pulling off its legs, she placed it with the hornet, and both lay side by side unprotestingly."
"What is a blow-fly? That is what I thought when I saw them: blow-flies. Is there something dead around here that has not yet begun to stink? I cannot discover where they are coming from; they just appear in the light of the lamp, attracted by the warmth, I suppose, and fly up against the bulb and then drop stunned on the table and flop about groggily until I sweep them away with my sleeve."

Etymology

From blow (“to infest with maggots by depositing eggs upon flesh”) + fly.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈbloʊˌflaɪ/

Inflected Forms

blowflies (plural) blow-fly (alternative) blow fly (alternative)

Phrases

flesh fly flesh-fly

Frequently Paired Words

flesh fly flesh-fly fleshfly flyblow flyblown

Synonyms

bottlefly meat fly blow fly

Questions

How do you pronounce blowfly?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈbloʊˌflaɪ/.
What does blowfly mean?: Any of various flies of the family Calliphoridae that lay their eggs in rotting meat, dung, or open wounds.
Where does blowfly come from?: From blow (“to infest with maggots by depositing eggs upon flesh”) + fly.

How to pronounce blowfly

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “blowfly”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈbloʊˌflaɪ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “blowfly”.
Repeat and practice — Say “blowfly” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.