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blenny

American  
[blen-ee] / ˈblɛn i /

noun

blennies plural
  1. any of several fishes of the family Blenniidae and related families, especially of the genus Blennius, having a long, tapering body and small pelvic fins inserted before the pectoral fins.


blenny British  
/ ˈblɛnɪ /

noun

  1. any blennioid fish of the family Blenniidae of coastal waters, esp of the genus Blennius , having a tapering scaleless body, a long dorsal fin, and long raylike pelvic fins

  2. any of various related fishes

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of blenny

1745–55; < Latin blennius a kind of fish < Greek blénnos slime, mucus; so called from its slimy coating

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

"Butterfly blenny naturally choose abandoned whelk shells as their home but it seems they can get creative," she said..

From BBC Feb. 19, 2024

What, we wonder, is the character of this sea lion; what kind of individual is this hammerhead shark; what is on the mind of this blenny?

From New York Times Nov. 25, 2019

Researchers found that the fang blenny, a reef-dwelling fish, administers a bite that is laced with opioids.

From BBC Mar. 30, 2017

"The fang blenny would simply swim out of the mouth and escape."

From BBC Mar. 30, 2017

In fact Disco’s delight would have been perfect, had the size of the belligerents admitted of his patting the little blenny on the back; but this of course was out of the question!

From Black Ivory by Pearson, Francis B.

"On the seabed of the river Fal, Cornwall, amongst beautiful pink maerl, many blennies have chosen to use discarded glass bottles as a shelter."

From BBC Feb. 19, 2024

It opened in 1934 near the Ballard Locks, featuring Alaska stickleback, pipe fish, yellow-banded perch, blennies and cultus cod, according to HistoryLink.

From Seattle Times Oct. 28, 2022

"They took the fang blennies into their mouths, then quickly started quivering and opened their mouths again," Dr Casewell described.

From BBC Mar. 30, 2017

In his initial research, Dr Casewell read fang blenny studies carried out in the 1970s, where larger, predatory fish were "introduced" to the fang blennies.

From BBC Mar. 30, 2017

Some few fish, indeed, are truly viviparous; among them certain blennies and carps, in which the eggs hatch out entirely within the body of the mother.

From Science in Arcady by Allen, Grant

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