haltere

noun (a haltere, halteres — usually plural)

«haltere» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

Everyday

(science) One of the two tiny knob-shaped organs on flies and mosquitoes, in place of a back pair of wings, which help them balance and steer while flying. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons about insects, halteres explain why flies are such good fliers: the halteres beat with the wings and sense turning, a bit like a living gyroscope. Most insects have four wings; true flies have two wings and two halteres. Phrases: a fly's halteres.

Examples

Flies have halteres instead of a second pair of wings. tree →
The halteres help a fly keep its balance. tree →
Under the microscope we saw the tiny halteres. tree →
Mosquitoes have halteres too. tree →
Halteres work a bit like a gyroscope. tree →

Note

Usually used in the plural: halteres (hal-TEER-eez). Science word; not used in everyday talk. Halteres come from the Greek for weights held by jumpers.

On Mova

Trees and pragmatics of «haltere» in the school dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
«haltere» in the school dictionary on Mova free.

This page in Markdown → https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/haltere/