damselfish

American  

[dam-zuhl-fish] / ˈdæm zəlˌfɪʃ /

noun

damselfish, plural damselfishes plural

1. any of several chiefly tropical, brilliantly colored, marine fishes of the family Pomacentridae, living among coral reefs.

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damselfish British  

/ ˈdæmzəlˌfɪʃ /

noun

1. any small tropical percoid fish of the family Pomacentridae, having a brightly coloured deep compressed body See also anemone fish

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• damselfish
  plural
• damselfishes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of damselfish

First recorded in 1900–05; damsel + fish

Example Sentences

The Cambridge researchers attached 3D plastic models of trumpetfish and parrotfish to a wire pulley system and deployed them inside a colony of damselfish.

From DOGO News • Sep. 7, 2023

But the study found that damselfish become less territorial when they live around rat-infested islands.

From Scientific American • May 12, 2023

We swam under a rock arch and through a short tunnel as damselfish, and ornate wrasse glided by in a mesmerizing parade.

From Washington Post • Sep. 9, 2022

Some species of damselfish, which also inhabit tropical reefs, also fail to freeze and hide when exposed to the scent of an injured fish — a stimulus that usually serves to warn of predators.

From Nature • Oct. 10, 2017

And in the case of damselfish, it involves plucking unwanted algae from their territories with their mouths and disposing of it at a distance.

From New York Times • Jun. 21, 2010