hoverfly

H4O1V4E1R1F4L1Y4
US/ˈhʌ.vɚˌflaɪ/

noun

Any of various flies from the family Syrphidae that hover in the air and feed on the nectar of flowers.

Similar
flower flyflower-fly
Scrabble 20
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Meanings

nounhoverfly (plural hoverflies)

plural hoverflies · alternative hover-fly

  1. Any of various flies from the family Syrphidae that hover in the air and feed on the nectar of flowers.

    Synonyms: flower fly, flower-fly

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAny of various flies from the family Syrphidae that hover in the air and feed on the nectar of flowers.

Similar
flower flyflower-fly
Also see
flower-fly

Origin

From hover + fly.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic ذُبَاب حَوَّام, ذُبَاب الزُّهُور
  • ذُبَاب حَوَّام (ḏubāb ḥawwām)fly in the family Syrphidae
  • ذُبَاب الزُّهُور (ḏubāb az-zuhūr)fly in the family Syrphidae
  • سِرْفَة (sirfa)fly in the family Syrphidae
Bulgarian цветарка
  • цветарка (cvetarka)fly in the family Syrphidae
Czech pestřenka, vosička
  • pestřenkafly in the family Syrphidae
  • vosičkafly in the family Syrphidae
Dutch zweefvlieg
  • zweefvliegfly in the family Syrphidae
Esperanto sirfedo
  • sirfedofly in the family Syrphidae
Finnish kukkakärpänen
  • kukkakärpänenfly in the family Syrphidae
French syrphe
  • syrphefly in the family Syrphidae
German Schwebfliege
  • Schwebfliegefly in the family Syrphidae
Hungarian zengőlégy
  • zengőlégyfly in the family Syrphidae
Italian sirfidi
  • sirfidifly in the family Syrphidae
Japanese 花虻
  • 花虻 (hanaabu)fly in the family Syrphidae
Korean 꽃등에과
  • 꽃등에과 (kkotdeung'egwa)fly in the family Syrphidae
Lithuanian žiedmusė
  • žiedmusėfly in the family Syrphidae
Māori ngaro tamumu
  • ngaro tamumufly in the family Syrphidae
Polish bzyg
  • bzygfly in the family Syrphidae
Portuguese mosca-das-flores
  • mosca-das-floresfly in the family Syrphidae
Russian журча́лка
  • журча́лка (žurčálka)fly in the family Syrphidae
Spanish sírfido
  • sírfidofly in the family Syrphidae
Swedish blomfluga
  • blomflugafly in the family Syrphidae
Tamil மிதவை ஈ
  • மிதவை ஈ (mitavai ī)fly in the family Syrphidae
Ukrainian дзюрча́лка
  • дзюрча́лка (dzjurčálka)fly in the family Syrphidae
Cite this entry
APA

hoverfly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hoverfly

MLA

“hoverfly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hoverfly. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hoverfly,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hoverfly.

Source: hoverfly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.