needlefish

American

[need-l-fish] / ˈnid lˌfɪʃ /

noun

any fish of the family Belonidae, of warm seas and coastal fresh waters, having a sharp beak and needlelike teeth.
a pipefish.

needlefish British

/ ˈniːdəlˌfɪʃ /

noun

any ferocious teleost fish of the family Belonidae of warm and tropical regions, having an elongated body and long toothed jaws
another name for pipefish

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

Etymology

Origin of needlefish

First recorded in 1595–1605; needle + fish

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Trolling a # 3 Needlefish or diving plugs like a # 7 Rapala Shad Rap, Baby Hot Lips or D-C 13 are bringing in some of the biggest trout we have seen in years.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 1, 2012

Must-Have Lure: I've thought about this many times, and I've decided it would be a white Hab's Needlefish, especially for really big bass.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023