flatfish

American  

[flat-fish] / ˈflætˌfɪʃ /

noun

flatfishes plural

1. any fish of the order Heterosomata (Pleuronectiformes), including the halibut, sole, flounder, etc., having a greatly compressed body and swimming on one side, with both eyes on the upper side in the adult.

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flatfish British  

/ ˈflætˌfɪʃ /

noun

1. any marine spiny-finned fish of the order Heterosomata , including the halibut, plaice, turbot, and sole, all of which (when adult) swim along the sea floor on one side of the body, which is highly compressed and has both eyes on the uppermost side

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• flatfishes
  plural
• flatfish
  plural

Etymology

Origin of flatfish

First recorded in 1700–10; flat ¹ + fish

Example Sentences

But other fish — such as Arctic cod, capelin and flatfish — evolved to thrive in this environment, with the cold pool serving as a protective barrier.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 17, 2021

In 2019, the bottom-trawl fleet’s incidental take, or bycatch, of halibut tallied nearly 3.1 million pounds as vessels used huge nets to scoop up 635.4 million pounds of yellowfin sole and other flatfish.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 13, 2021

Fluke often is confused with flounder, another bottom-dwelling flatfish, and there is not too much of a culinary difference between the two.

From Washington Times • Mar. 17, 2018

For lunch with Moon, the North Korean delegation was served grilled flatfish, soup with dried fish balls, buckwheat crepes with persimmon sauce and two types of kimchi.

From Washington Post • Feb. 10, 2018

Soles, turbots, and other flatfish are, as is well known, unsymmetrical.

From Darwinism (1889) by Wallace, Alfred Russel