What does "cranefly" mean?

Any of various large flies of the suborder Tipulomorpha that have slender bodies and very long legs and that resemble giant mosquitoes.

How do you pronounce "cranefly"?

Pronounced //ˈkɹeɪnˌflaɪ//.

Common synonyms include: daddy longlegs, daddy longlegs, gollywhopper, gullywhumper, leatherjacket, mosquito hawk.

//ˈkɹeɪnˌflaɪ// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
Any of various large flies of the suborder Tipulomorpha that have slender bodies and very long legs and that resemble giant mosquitoes.

From crane (“bird”) + fly, from the resemblance of the insect's long, spindly legs to those of a crane.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.