vinegar fly

noun

Any fly of the family Drosophilidae

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounvinegar fly (plural vinegar flies)

plural vinegar flies

  1. Any fly of the family Drosophilidae
    1. Any fly of the genus Drosophila, especially Drosophila melanogaster, the common fruit fly.

Origin

So called because it may breed in imperfectly sealed preserves and in pickles.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

vinegar fly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vinegar%20fly

MLA

“vinegar fly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vinegar%20fly. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “vinegar fly,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vinegar%20fly.

Source: vinegar fly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.