fruit bat
nounDefinition of fruit bat
: any of a family (Pteropodidae of the suborder Megachiroptera) of often large tropical and subtropical Old World bats that feed on ripe fruit, pollen, and nectar and that usually use visual navigation rather than echolocation
— called also flying fox
Illustration of fruit bat
fruit bat with fruit
Examples of fruit bat in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The olive python, which can reach up to 13 feet in length, is known to eat birds, mammals and other reptiles, including fruit bats and ducks, according to Pilabra Pythons, which handles commercial sales of snakes in Australia. — Fox News, "WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES: Massive python swallows croc whole in ghastly pics," 11 July 2019 Now, another unique species, a fruit bat known as the Mauritian flying fox, is being pushed toward extinction. — Rachel Nuwer, National Geographic, "These endangered bats are being killed by the thousands—here’s why," 1 Mar. 2019 The first case in the 2018 outbreak was suspected to have been caused by fruit bats, which were discovered in an unused well at the home of the victim, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). — Faiz Akthar, CNN, "India fears new outbreak of lethal Nipah virus," 5 June 2019 Based on his calculations, Hardy believes that 579,000 fruit bats lived on Mauritius in 2015. — Rachel Nuwer, National Geographic, "These endangered bats are being killed by the thousands—here’s why," 1 Mar. 2019 Ten people in the South Indian state of Kerala have died after being infected by the Nipah virus, an emerging disease thought to be spread by fruit bats and other animals. — Alexandra Sifferlin, Time, "What You Should Know About the Nipah Virus Outbreak," 22 May 2018 Inject an Egyptian fruit bat with the Marburg virus - a hemorrhagic relative of the infamous Ebola virus - and nothing happens. — Lucy Cooke, ajc, "US military is interested in bats as possible defenders against bioweapons," 3 July 2018 Inject an Egyptian fruit bat with the Marburg virus — a hemorrhagic relative of the infamous Ebola virus — and nothing happens. — Lucy Cooke, Washington Post, "The batty, explosive history of bats in the military — and why this new idea just might work," 2 July 2018 But the fruit bat's NK receptor genes appear to activate and inhibit NK cell function. — Lucy Cooke, ajc, "US military is interested in bats as possible defenders against bioweapons," 3 July 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fruit bat.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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