fruit bat

noun

: any of a family (Pteropodidae of the suborder Megachiroptera) of often large tropical and subtropical Old World bats that feed on ripe fruit, pollen, and nectar and that usually use visual navigation rather than echolocation

called also flying fox

Illustration of fruit bat

Illustration of fruit bat
  • fruit bat with fruit

Examples of fruit bat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Where Did Marburg Come From? Although cave-dwelling African fruit bats appear to harbor Marburg virus, the virus is stealthy. Mark Kortepeter, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2024 The Nipah virus is transmitted to humans from animals such as fruit bats or pigs. Sam Meredith, CNBC, 25 July 2024 Chances are your toddler is already familiar with the charming fruit bat Stellaluna thanks to the classic children's book featured in almost every public and pre-school library. Megan Vick, EW.com, 3 Aug. 2024 Nipah, which comes from fruit bats and animals such as pigs, can cause a lethal, brain-swelling fever in humans. Reuters, NBC News, 22 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for fruit bat 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fruit bat.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fruit bat was in 1877

Dictionary Entries Near fruit bat

Cite this Entry

“Fruit bat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fruit%20bat. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

fruit bat

noun
: any of numerous large Old World fruit-eating bats of warm regions

called also flying fox

More from Merriam-Webster on fruit bat

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