bullhead

American  

[bool-hed] / ˈbʊlˌhɛd /

noun

1. any of several North American, freshwater catfishes of the genus Ictalurus, having a rounded or truncate caudal fin.

2. any of several other fishes, as the freshwater sculpins of the genus Cottus, especially those species having a hornlike spine on each side of the head.

3. an obstinate or stupid person.

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bullhead British  

/ ˈbʊlˌhɛd /

noun

1. any of various small northern mainly marine scorpaenoid fishes of the family Cottidae that have a large head covered with bony plates and spines

2. any freshwater North American catfish of the genus Ameiurus (or Ictalurus ), having a large head bearing several long barbels

3. a scorpion fish, Scorpaena guttata , of North American Pacific coastal waters

4. informal a stupidly stubborn or unintelligent person

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Etymology

Origin of bullhead

An Americanism dating back to 1665–75; bull ¹ + head

Example Sentences

The River Lugg is home to six protected and endangered species, including common otter, Atlantic salmon, white clawed crayfish, brook lamprey, shad and bullhead.

From BBC • May 26, 2026

McNeish, who has examined the fish carcasses since late August, has identified non-native species including bass, sunfish, bullhead catfish and mosquitofish.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 19, 2024

One fish, a brown bullhead, had the astounding concentration of twenty-five hundred parts per million.

From The New Yorker • Jan. 3, 2017

Professor Waldman pronounced the fish a freshwater bullhead catfish — and a hoax.

From New York Times • Nov. 10, 2015

Set apart from the rest of the buildings, it was surrounded by a wasteland of sand and low, flat bullhead vines.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer