butterflyfish

American  

[buht-er-flahy-fish] / ˈbʌt ərˌflaɪˌfɪʃ /

noun

butterflyfishes plural

1. any tropical marine fish of the family Chaetodontidae, having large, broad fins or brilliant coloration, or both.

2. flying gurnard.

3. a blenny, Blennius ocellaris, of Europe.

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butterflyfish British  

noun

1. any small tropical marine percoid fish of the genera Chaetodon, Chelmon , etc, that has a deep flattened brightly coloured or strikingly marked body and brushlike teeth: family Chaetodontidae See also angelfish

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• butterflyfish
  plural
• butterflyfishes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of butterflyfish

First recorded in 1730–40; butterfly + fish

Example Sentences

“That’s helped to accelerate the number of species that we’ve been able to raise in during that time and the variety of species too,” he said, highlighting species such as wrasses, butterflyfish and tangs.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 19, 2022

Highlights include the spot fin butterflyfish, yellow tang and Banggai cardinalfish.

From Washington Post • Sep. 24, 2020

For every species of butterflyfish or parrotfish you spot in the Caribbean, you might see three or more species in Southeast Asia’s Coral Triangle or Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

From New York Times • Oct. 17, 2018

Threadfin butterflyfish and powder blue tang might dart about one area, while Cretaceous glow-eyed archosaurs and mottled elasmosaurs swoosh through another.

From Time • Aug. 2, 2016

The residents of this marine civilization have extravagant names like azure demoiselles, pewter angelfish, painted frogfish and saddle butterflyfish.

From New York Times • Sep. 7, 2012