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
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That family in the $20 million carriage house had been there for generations, having inherited their wealth from forebears who made their fortune in pest control, leaving flypaper impregnated with arsenic around for Freya to store and use for her own purposes. Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 4 Apr. 2025 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 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

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Cite this Entry

“Flypaper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flypaper. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.

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

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