blackfish

[ blak-fish ]

/ ˈblækˌfɪʃ /

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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.

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Origin of blackfish

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

Words nearby blackfish

blackfellow's bread, Black Ferns, black-figure, blackfin, blackfire, blackfish, black flag, black flux, black fly, black fog, Blackfoot

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

How to use blackfish in a sentence

In April 2014, SeaWorld put up a Facebook post, “69 Reasons You Shouldn’t Believe Blackfish,” that linked to a 32-page analysis of the film’s supposed inaccuracies.
The Outside Story Behind the Documentary ‘Blackfish’|jversteegh|November 11, 2021|Outside Online
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
Other fishes are bottom feeders, as the blackfish and the sea bass, living almost entirely upon mollusks and crustaceans.
A Civic Biology|George William Hunter

Wakening before the others, Raven went to the creek and made three pairs of fishes: sticklebacks, graylings, and blackfish.
A Treasury of Eskimo Tales|Clara Kern Bayliss
Boatmen and deep-sea men report these blackfish to be dangerous and had better be left alone.
Tales of Fishes|Zane Grey
It was decided to try for blackfish off the rocks beyond Sokennet the next morning.
Ruth Fielding at Lighthouse Point|Alice B. Emerson
The fishermen were beginning to haul in weakfish and an occasional tautog, or blackfish.
The Campfire Girls on Station Island|Margaret Penrose

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