lanternfish

or lan·tern fish

[ lan-tern-fish ]

noun,plural (especially collectively) lan·tern·fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) lan·tern·fish·es.
  1. any of several small, deep-sea fishes of the family Myctophidae, having rows of luminous organs along each side, certain species of which migrate to the surface at night.

Origin of lanternfish

1
First recorded in 1745–55; lantern + fish

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use lanternfish in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for lantern fish

lantern fish

noun
  1. any small deep-sea teleost fish of the family Myctophidae, having a series of luminescent spots along the body

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