adipose fin

American

noun

a small, fleshy fin, usually lacking rays, behind the main dorsal fin in trouts, catfishes, and other bony fishes.

adipose fin British

noun

a posterior dorsal fin occurring in some fish, such as those of the salmon and catfish families

"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

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.

They moved methodically from pool to pool, counting every steelhead they could find and keeping a wary eye out for the telltale clipped adipose fin that marks a hatchery-bred fish.

From Washington Times • Oct. 23, 2016

Remember that you can only keep adipose fin clipped cuts.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 30, 2016

New for 2012: Any Chinook and any coho may be retained, adipose fin clipped or not.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 29, 2012

Eleven pounds and no adipose fin — a hatchery salmon!

From New York Times • Oct. 22, 2011

It was rather like the adipose fin of a fish, but gaudy.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

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