bluebottle

noun

blue·​bot·​tle ˈblü-ˌbä-tᵊl How to pronounce bluebottle (audio)
1
2
: any of several blowflies (genus Calliphora) that have the abdomen or the whole body iridescent blue in color and that make a loud buzzing noise in flight

Examples of bluebottle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web So, Cheng and colleagues used high-speed video to capture and analyze more than 20 bluebottle flies (Calliphora vomitoria), known for their exquisite maneuvers, sticking their inverted landings in a flight chamber. Stephenie Livingston, Science | AAAS, 23 Oct. 2019 Instead there's crumpled napkins, unclaimed pens, forgotten umbrellas, a half-empty Coke bottle and a solitary bluebottle fly out of a Raymond Chandler novel. Kenneth Turan, latimes.com, 17 May 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bluebottle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of bluebottle was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near bluebottle

Cite this Entry

“Bluebottle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bluebottle. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

bluebottle

noun
blue·​bot·​tle -ˌbät-ᵊl How to pronounce bluebottle (audio)
: any of several blowflies with a shiny blue abdomen or body

Medical Definition

bluebottle

noun
blue·​bot·​tle ˈblü-ˌbät-ᵊl How to pronounce bluebottle (audio)
: any of several blowflies (genus Calliphora) that have an iridescent blue body or abdomen and make a loud buzzing noise in flight

More from Merriam-Webster on bluebottle

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!