archerfish

[ ahr-cher-fish ]

/ ˈɑr tʃərˌfɪʃ /

noun, plural (especially collectively) ar·cher·fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) ar·cher·fish·es.

a small fish, Toxotes jaculatrix, of brackish and fresh waters in southeastern Asia, that preys upon shoreside spiders and insects by spitting drops of water at them and knocking them into the water.

any of several closely related fishes of the family Toxotidae.

Nearby words

archeology, archeometry, archeozoic, archeptolemus, archer, archerfish, archery, arches, arches national park, archespore, archesporium

Origin of archerfish

First recorded in 1885–90; archer + fish

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for archerfish

archerfish

/ (ˈɑːtʃəˌfɪʃ) /

noun plural -fish or -fishes

any freshwater percoid fish of the family Toxotidae of S and SE Asia and Australia, esp Toxotes jaculatrix, that catch insects by spitting water at them

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