lungfish

American  

[luhng-fish] / ˈlʌŋˌfɪʃ /

noun

lungfishes plural

1. any of various slender, air-breathing fishes of the order (or subclass) Dipnoi, of rivers and lakes in Africa, South America, and Australia, having a lunglike air bladder as well as gills and growing to a length of 3 to 6 feet (0.9 to 1.8 meters).

---

lungfish British  

/ ˈlʌŋˌfɪʃ /

noun

1. any freshwater bony fish of the subclass Dipnoi, having an air-breathing lung, fleshy paired fins, and an elongated body. The only living species are those of the genera Lepidosiren of South America, Protopterus of Africa, and Neoceratodus of Australia

---

lungfish Scientific  

/ lŭng′fĭsh′ /

1. Any of several tropical freshwater fish of the order or subclass Dipnoi that, in addition to having gills, have lunglike organs for breathing air. Lungfish have a long, narrow body, and certain species can survive periods of drought inside a mucus-lined cocoon in the mud. The lungfish and the coelacanths are the only living lobe-finned fishes.

---

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• lungfishes
  plural
• lungfish
  plural

Etymology

Origin of lungfish

First recorded in 1880–85; lung + fish

Example Sentences

Lungfish represent an extremely ancient branch of the vertebrate family tree.

From Science Daily • Mar. 12, 2026

"Gustav Lungfish got sick from something mysterious and he nearly died. Well he did die in fact," she said.

From Fox News • Jan. 1, 2022

Lungfish vocalizations are on a par with the sounds of air escaping the mouth of a balloon.

From New York Times • Feb. 10, 2021

Lungfish are more appetizing to the Western palate than the coelacanth but still distinctly fishy tasting.

From Slate • Sep. 20, 2012

The Lungfish, the dodo, and the unicorn: an excursion into romantic zoology.

From U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1975 July - December by Library of Congress. Copyright Office