blackfish

[ blak-fish ]

noun,plural (especially collectively) black·fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) black·fish·es.
  1. any of various dark-colored fishes, as the tautog, Tautoga onitis, or the sea bass, Centropristes striatus.

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

Origin of blackfish

1
An Americanism dating back to 1680–90; black + fish

Words Nearby blackfish

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

How to use blackfish in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for blackfish

blackfish

/ (ˈblækˌfɪʃ) /


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

  2. a female salmon that has recently spawned: Compare redfish (def. 1)

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

  2. 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