mayfly
noun
may·fly
| \ ˈmā-ˌflī
\
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Definition of mayfly
: any of an order (Ephemeroptera) of insects with an aquatic nymph and a short-lived, fragile adult lacking mouthparts and having membranous, heavily veined wings and two or three long, threadlike tails
Note: the wings of the mayfly are held vertically above the body when closed.
— called also ephemerid
Illustration of mayfly
Examples of mayfly in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Stepanian and Wainwright are now using their radar analysis to track the spectacular emergence of mayflies in the Upper Midwest every summer. — Carolyn Kormann, The New Yorker, "The Changing Climate Inside the World’s Largest Bat Colony," 6 Aug. 2019 Many of the sport anglers and fishing guides are trolling the wide waters, which were littered with the skeletons of millions of hatching mayflies. — D'arcy Egan, cleveland.com, "Lake Erie walleye head to deeper waters, but still plentiful: June 5 Fishing Report," 5 July 2019 Little of this comes through in the film, which is about the mayfly moment and three people at its center. — Ty Burr, BostonGlobe.com, "‘Leto’ revisits Soviet socialist rock ’n’ roll," 31 July 2019 National Weather Service radar in recent days has captured some dramatic images of billions of mayflies making their annual summer hatch. — Keith Matheny, Detroit Free Press, "Weather radar captures billions of mayflies hatching on Lake Erie," 5 July 2019 The massive mayfly hatch earlier in the week did not seem to have its usual effect of slowing the walleye bite. — D'arcy Egan, cleveland.com, "Lake Erie walleye parade not slowed by mayfly hatch, hot weather: July 12 Fishing Report," 12 July 2019 The National Weather Service notes that mayflies are sensitive to gross organic pollution such as sewage in waterways. — Keith Matheny, Detroit Free Press, "Weather radar captures billions of mayflies hatching on Lake Erie," 5 July 2019 Residents in parts of Northern Ohio are battling a massive swarm of mayflies as thousands of the tiny insects blanketed the state this week. — Fox News, "Swarm of mayflies invade Ohio, insects detected on local weather radars," 30 June 2019 On Thursday, Cleveland Weatherman Jason Nicholas shared a picture of Cleveland 19 News' Doppler radar showing a swarm of mayflies. — Sarah Brookbank, Cincinnati.com, "A Mayfly invasion in Ohio was picked up by weather radars and it's pretty gross," 28 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mayfly.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for mayfly
mayfly
noun
English Language Learners Definition of mayfly
: a small flying insect that lives for only a short time
See the full definition for mayfly in the English Language Learners Dictionary