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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.
  3. black whale.
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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. 2018

Examples from the Web for blackfish

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Great numbers of blackfish and porpoises abound in this vicinity.

    The Land of Thor

    J. Ross Browne

  • "We thought we might get some blackfish at the end of the reef," Scotty replied.

    Smugglers' Reef

    John Blaine

  • Hauling in blackfish isn't going to find out why the Sea Belle was wrecked.

    Smugglers' Reef

    John Blaine

  • 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

  • Here he made two sticklebacks, two graylings, and two blackfish.

British Dictionary definitions for blackfish

blackfish

noun plural -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 spawnedCompare redfish (def. 1)
  3. any of various other dark fishes, esp the luderick, a common edible Australian estuary fish
  4. another name for pilot whale
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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