angelfish

American  

[ayn-juhl-fish] / ˈeɪn dʒəlˌfɪʃ /

noun

• angelfish,
  plural
• angelfishes
  plural

1. a South American freshwater fish, genus Pterophyllum, often kept in aquariums.

2. angel shark.

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angelfish British  

/ ˈeɪndʒəlˌfɪʃ /

noun

1. any of various small tropical marine percoid fishes of the genus Pomacanthus and related genera, which have a deep flattened brightly coloured body and brushlike teeth: family Chaetodontidae See also butterflyfish

2. Also called: scalare. a South American cichlid, Pterophyllum scalare, of the Amazon region, having a compressed body and large dorsal and anal fins: a popular aquarium fish

3. another name for angel shark

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• angelfish
  plural
• angelfishes
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of angelfish

First recorded in 1660–70; angel + fish

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

angelfish

The fish included golden African snappers, blackbar soldierfish, Guinean angelfish, West African goatfish, the Monrovia doctorfish, three-banded butterflyfish, and two species of damselfish.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026

Spiny-finned sea robin, blackfish and wayward angelfish swim in the murky ocean tinted green by sheets of algae.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 30, 2023

In the first building, she cooed over yellow snappers and pointed out some angelfish, then admired the stripes on some zebrafish.

From New York Times ● Oct. 29, 2021

Animals raised by farms on land or in the ocean statewide include shrimp, oysters, clams, moi, tilapia, kampachi, koi and angelfish.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 20, 2020

The fish had the hues of sunsets on their scales, and the most beautiful, the angelfish, were three for a penny, while the uglier, more edible ones, were sixpence each.

From Jungle Peace by William Beebe

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