Venus's-flytrap

or Ve·nus's fly·trap

[ vee-nuh-siz-flahy-trap ]

noun

1. former names of the Venus flytrap.

Venus's-flytrap

noun

1. an insectivorous plant, Dionaea muscipula, of Carolina, having hinged two-lobed leaves that snap closed when the sensitive hairs on the surface are touched: family Droseraceae See also sundew pitcher plant butterwort

Word History and Origins

Origin of Venus's-flytrap¹

An Americanism dating back to 1770–80

Example Sentences

"The New Yorker is kind of like the Venus's-flytrap," says one staffer.

From Time Magazine Archive

By crossing a butterwort with a Venus's-flytrap, Seymour creates a new plant type, which he calls Audrey Jr. and which, it happens, feeds on human blood.

From Time Magazine Archive

It takes little imagination to see the Venus's-flytrap that Steinem could have grown from that seedling.

From Time Magazine Archive

Hasted and McDowell propose to capture the quark-oxygen atom by launching a Venus's-flytrap rocket that would open its jaws at an altitude of 30 miles, adsorb the oxygen atoms on an activated charcoal surface and bring them back to earth.

From Time Magazine Archive

It is also the story of ever-maudlin Ken, a kind of tame Venus's-flytrap, whom Amanda keeps around less for biological than for decorative reasons.

From Time Magazine Archive