| alderfly | (noun) dark-colored insect having predaceous aquatic larvae | Synonyms: alder fly, Sialis lutaria |
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| blackfly | (noun) small blackish stout-bodied biting fly having aquatic larvae; sucks the blood of birds as well as humans and other mammals | Synonyms: black fly, buffalo gnat |
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| (noun) blackish aphid that infests e.g. beans and sugar beets | Synonyms: Aphis fabae, bean aphid |
| blowfly | (noun) large usually hairy metallic blue or green fly; lays eggs in carrion or dung or wounds | Synonyms: blow fly |
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| bluffly | (adverb) in a blunt direct manner | Synonyms: bluntly, brusquely, flat out, roundly |
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| botfly | (noun) stout-bodied hairy dipterous fly whose larvae are parasites on humans and other mammals | - |
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| briefly | (adverb) for a short time | - |
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| (adverb) in a concise manner; in a few words | Synonyms: concisely, in brief, in short, shortly |
| butterfly | (noun) a swimming stroke in which the arms are thrown forward together out of the water while the feet kick up and down | Synonyms: butterfly stroke |
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| (noun) diurnal insect typically having a slender body with knobbed antennae and broad colorful wings | - |
| (verb) talk or behave amorously, without serious intentions | Synonyms: chat up, coquet, coquette, dally, flirt, mash, philander, romance |
| (verb) cut and spread open, as in preparation for cooking | - |
| (verb) flutter like a butterfly | - |
| catchfly | (noun) mostly perennial herbs with sticky stems that catch insects; widespread in north temperate zone | Synonyms: lychnis |
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| (noun) any plant of the genus Silene | Synonyms: campion, silene |
| chalcidfly | (noun) any of various tiny insects whose larvae are parasites on eggs and larvae of other insects; many are beneficial in destroying injurious insects | Synonyms: chalcid, chalcid fly, chalcid wasp |
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| chiefly | (adverb) for the most part | Synonyms: in the main, mainly, primarily, principally |
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| damselfly | (noun) slender non-stinging insect similar to but smaller than the dragonfly but having wings folded when at rest | - |
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| dayfly | (noun) slender insect with delicate membranous wings having an aquatic larval stage and terrestrial adult stage usually lasting less than two days | Synonyms: mayfly, shadfly |
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| dobsonfly | (noun) large soft-bodied insect having long slender mandibles in the male; aquatic larvae often used as bait | Synonyms: Corydalus cornutus, dobson, dobson fly |
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| dragonfly | (noun) slender-bodied non-stinging insect having iridescent wings that are outspread at rest; adults and nymphs feed on mosquitoes etc. | Synonyms: darning needle, devil's darning needle, mosquito hawk, sewing needle, skeeter hawk, snake doctor, snake feeder |
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| firefly | (noun) nocturnal beetle common in warm regions having luminescent abdominal organs | Synonyms: lightning bug |
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| (noun) tropical American click beetle having bright luminous spots | Synonyms: fire beetle, Pyrophorus noctiluca |
| fly | (adjective) (British informal) not to be deceived or hoodwinked | - |
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| (noun) (baseball) a hit that flies up in the air | Synonyms: fly ball |
| (noun) two-winged insects characterized by active flight | - |
| (noun) an opening in a garment that is closed by a zipper or by buttons concealed under a fold of cloth | Synonyms: fly front |
| (noun) flap consisting of a piece of canvas that can be drawn back to provide entrance to a tent | Synonyms: fly sheet, rainfly, tent-fly, tent flap |
| (noun) fisherman's lure consisting of a fishhook decorated to look like an insect | - |
| (verb) decrease rapidly and disappear | Synonyms: vanish, vaporize |
| (verb) change quickly from one emotional state to another | - |
| (verb) transport by aeroplane | - |
| (verb) hit a fly | - |
| (verb) travel through the air; be airborne | Synonyms: wing |
| (verb) operate an airplane | Synonyms: aviate, pilot |
| (verb) move quickly or suddenly | - |
| (verb) run away quickly | Synonyms: flee, take flight |
| (verb) travel over (an area of land or sea) in an aircraft | - |
| (verb) travel in an airplane | - |
| (verb) pass away rapidly | Synonyms: fell, vanish |
| (verb) cause to fly or float | - |
| (verb) be dispersed or disseminated | - |
| (verb) display in the air or cause to float | - |
| gadfly | (noun) any of various large flies that annoy livestock | - |
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| (noun) a persistently annoying person | Synonyms: blighter, cuss, pest, pesterer |
| gallfly | (noun) any of various insects that deposit their eggs in plants causing galls in which the larvae feed | - |
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| (noun) small solitary wasp that produces galls on oaks and other plants | Synonyms: cynipid gall wasp, cynipid wasp, gall wasp |
| (noun) fragile mosquito-like flies that produce galls on plants | Synonyms: gall gnat, gall midge |
| greenfly | (noun) greenish aphid; pest on garden and crop plants | - |
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| gruffly | (adverb) in a gruff manner | - |
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| horsefly | (noun) large swift fly the female of which sucks blood of various animals | Synonyms: cleg, clegg, horse fly |
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| (noun) winged fly parasitic on horses | Synonyms: Hippobosca equina, horse tick |
| housefly | (noun) common fly that frequents human habitations and spreads many diseases | Synonyms: house fly, Musca domestica |
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| mayfly | (noun) slender insect with delicate membranous wings having an aquatic larval stage and terrestrial adult stage usually lasting less than two days | Synonyms: dayfly, shadfly |
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| medfly | (noun) small black-and-white fly that damages citrus and other fruits by implanting eggs that hatch inside the fruit | Synonyms: Ceratitis capitata, Mediterranean fruit fly |
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| overfly | (verb) fly over | Synonyms: pass over |
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| rainfly | (noun) flap consisting of a piece of canvas that can be drawn back to provide entrance to a tent | Synonyms: fly, fly sheet, tent-fly, tent flap |
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| sandfly | (noun) any of various small dipterous flies; bloodsucking females can transmit sandfly fever and leishmaniasis | Synonyms: Phlebotomus papatasii, sand fly |
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| sawfly | (noun) insect whose female has a saw-like ovipositor for inserting eggs into the leaf or stem tissue of a host plant | - |
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| shadfly | (noun) slender insect with delicate membranous wings having an aquatic larval stage and terrestrial adult stage usually lasting less than two days | Synonyms: dayfly, mayfly |
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| shoofly | (noun) a child's rocking chair with the seat built between two flat sides that are shaped to resemble an animal (such as a swan or duck) | - |
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| (noun) an undercover police officer who investigates other policemen | - |
| snakefly | (noun) predatory insect of western North America having a long necklike prothorax | - |
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| sniffly | (adjective) liable to sniffle | Synonyms: snuffling, snuffly |
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| snuffly | (adjective) liable to sniffle | Synonyms: sniffly, snuffling |
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| spongefly | (noun) hairy-bodied insect whose larvae feed on freshwater sponges | Synonyms: spongillafly |
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| spongillafly | (noun) hairy-bodied insect whose larvae feed on freshwater sponges | Synonyms: spongefly |
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| stiffly | (adverb) in a stiff manner | Synonyms: stiff |
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| (adverb) in a rigid manner | Synonyms: bolt, rigidly |
| stonefly | (noun) primitive winged insect with a flattened body; used as bait by fishermen; aquatic gilled larvae are carnivorous and live beneath stones | Synonyms: plecopteran, stone fly |
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| whitefly | (noun) minute insect that feeds on plant juices; related to scale insects | - |
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