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# 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 →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/haltere/#m1)

### 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 →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/haltere/#x1)
- The halteres help a fly keep its balance. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/haltere/#x2)
- Under the microscope we saw the tiny halteres. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/haltere/#x3)
- Mosquitoes have halteres too. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/haltere/#x4)
- Halteres work a bit like a gyroscope. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/haltere/#x5)

### 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](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/haltere/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«haltere» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/haltere.html) on Mova free.