blackfish

[ blak-fish ]

/ ˈblækˌfɪʃ /

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

any of various dark-colored fishes, as the tautog, Tautoga onitis, or the sea bass, Centropristes striatus.

a small, freshwater food fish, Dallia pectoralis, found in Alaska and Siberia, noted for its ability to survive frozen in ice.

black whale.

Nearby words

blackfeet, blackfellow, blackfellow's bread, blackfin, blackfire, blackfish, blackfly, blackfoot, blackguard, blackguardly, blackhead

Origin of blackfish

An Americanism dating back to 1680–90; black + fish

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

Examples from the Web for blackfish

To this day, multiple SeaWorld employees who have seen the film suggest to me that Blackfish barely scratches the surface.
‘Blackfish’ Director: Killer Whales Don’t Belong in Captivity|Gabriela Cowperthwaite|October 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Mike Barnett of Freeport, Long Island is busy catching striped bass and blackfish.
Long Island Fisherman in Dire Straits|Eliza Shapiro|November 5, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Furthermore, false killer whales are the only "blackfish" which are known to ride the bow wave of a ship.
Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises of the Western North Atlantic|Stephen Leatherwood
Dolphins, rock-cod, pigfish, and blackfish may be caught as quickly as they can be hauled out.
Real Soldiers of Fortune|Richard Harding Davis

The relative size of a blackfish and a man is shown at Fig. 3.
Friction, Lubrication and the Lubricants in Horology|William T. Lewis
But it was neither a whale nor a blackfish—not even a small one—nor was it a shark.
Creatures of the Abyss|Murray Leinster
Through binoculars he made out a shape under the water, too large to be a blackfish, lying diagonally across the K's course.
The Story of the Great War, Volume VI (of VIII)|Various

British Dictionary definitions for blackfish

blackfish

/ (ˈblækˌfɪʃ) /

noun plural -fish or -fishes

a minnow-like Alaskan freshwater fish, Dallia pectoralis, related to the pikes and thought to be able to survive prolonged freezing

a female salmon that has recently spawnedCompare redfish (def. 1)

any of various other dark fishes, esp the luderick, a common edible Australian estuary fish

another name for pilot whale

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