horse fly

noun

1. any bloodsucking, usually large fly of the family Tabanidae, especially of the genus Tabanus, a serious pest of horses, cattle, etc.

Word History and Origins

Origin of horse fly¹

1350–1400; Middle English horsfleeye

Example Sentences

Everything else is on Harris, including athlete’s feet and horse flies.

From Salon

At the president’s direction, the attorney general is investigating members of the FBI who have investigated the corruption that surrounds Trump like a cloud of horse flies.

From Washington Post

In the meantime, people planning on being around horses or horse flies may want to consider wearing zebra print rather than a solid to avoid being bitten.

From New York Times

Researchers on Wednesday described experiments demonstrating that horse flies have a difficult time landing on zebras while easily landing on uniformly colored horses.

From Reuters

There is a wasp named after William Shakespeare, a horse fly named after Beyoncé and a lichen named after Dolly Parton.

From Seattle Times