billfish

[ bil-fish ]

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

any of various fishes having a long, sharp bill or snout, as a gar, needlefish, or saury.

Origin of billfish

An Americanism dating back to 1775–85; bill² + fish

Words Nearby billfish

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use billfish in a sentence

These sharks, including oceanic whitetips and porbeagles, are often caught by accident within tuna and billfish fisheries.
Sharks face rising odds of extinction even as other big fish populations recover | Jake Buehler | November 10, 2022 | Science News
The saury, or billfish—scomberesox sauris—is found in all parts of the North Atlantic.
Motor Matt's Race | Stanley R. Matthews

British Dictionary definitions for billfish

billfish

/ (ˈbɪlˌfɪʃ) /

nounplural -fish or -fishes

US any of various fishes having elongated jaws, esp any fish of the family Istiophoridae, such as the spearfish and marlin

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

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