flypaper

noun

fly·​pa·​per ˈflī-ˌpā-pər How to pronounce flypaper (audio)
: paper coated with a sticky often poisonous substance for killing flies

Examples of flypaper in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
One defense, beginning in the late eighteen-hundreds, was flypaper, sheets of which were coated on one side with an oleaginous substance that lured flies, then permanently trapped them. David Owen, The New Yorker, 27 July 2024 In 1923, according to the Baltimore Afro-American newspaper and other accounts, one patient got into a disagreement with a younger guard who taunted him and covered his mouth with sticky flypaper. Donna M. Owens, NBC News, 24 Jan. 2024 For liberals, however, the idea is flypaper for falsehoods. Rhoda Feng, BostonGlobe.com, 29 June 2023 Lesser known than other carnivorous plants, the butterwort is the flypaper of the carnivorous plant world. Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 6 Dec. 2021 See all Example Sentences for flypaper 

Word History

First Known Use

1846, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of flypaper was in 1846

Dictionary Entries Near flypaper

Cite this Entry

“Flypaper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flypaper. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

flypaper

noun
fly·​pa·​per -ˌpā-pər How to pronounce flypaper (audio)
: paper coated with a sticky often poisonous substance for killing flies

More from Merriam-Webster on flypaper

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!