Standard Lemma guide

housefly

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

Any fly regularly found in human dwellings.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Any fly regularly found in human dwellings.

The common housefly, Musca domestica, that frequents most homes and spreads some diseases.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

common fly that frequents human habitations and spreads many diseases

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: house fly, Musca domestica

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: fly

History

Etymology

From house + fly. Cognate with Dutch huisvlieg (“housefly”), Danish husflue (“housefly”), Swedish husfluga (“housefly”), Faroese húsfluga (“housefly”).

Across languages

Translations

44 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Aklanon: eangaw — fly
  • Arabic: ذُبَابَة مَنْزِلِيَّة — fly
  • Azerbaijani: otaq milçəyi — fly
  • Basque: etxe-euli — fly
  • Catalan: mosca comuna — fly
  • Cebuano: langaw — fly
  • Chinese Mandarin: 家蠅 /家蝇 (jiāyíng) — fly
  • Czech: moucha domácí — fly
  • Dutch: huisvlieg — fly
  • Estonian: harilik toakärbes — fly
  • Faroese: húsfluga — fly
  • Faroese: búfluga — fly
  • Finnish: huonekärpänen — fly
  • French: mouche domestique — fly
  • German: Stubenfliege — fly
  • German: Flüüge — fly
  • Hiligaynon: langaw — fly
  • Inuktitut: ᑎᒻᒥᕗᖅ (timmifoq) — fly
  • Italian: mosca domestica — fly
  • Japanese: 家蝿 (iebae) — fly
  • Kinaray-a: langaw — fly
  • Korean: 집파리 (jip'pari) — fly
  • Latin: Musca Domestica — fly
  • Malayalam: ഈച്ച (īcca) — fly
  • Māori: ngaro huka — fly
  • Navajo: tséʼédǫ́ʼii — fly
  • Norman: moûque dé tchuîsinne — fly
  • Polish: mucha domowa — fly
  • Portuguese: mosca doméstica — fly
  • Romanian: muscă de casă — fly
  • Russian: ко́мнатная му́ха (kómnatnaja múxa) — fly
  • Shona: nhunzi — fly
  • Spanish: mosca doméstica — fly
  • Spanish: mosca común — fly
  • Swedish: husfluga — fly
  • Tagalog: langaw — fly
  • Tamil: ஈ (ī) — fly
  • Tumbuka: membe — fly
  • Turkish: karasinek — fly
  • Ottoman Turkish: قره سیڭك (kara siñek) — fly
  • Vietnamese: ruồi nhà — fly
  • Welsh: pryf tŷ — fly
  • Welsh: pry ffenestr — fly
  • Welsh: cleren tai — fly