a large freshwater cyprinid fish, Cyprinus carpio, native to Asia but widely introduced in tropical and temperate waters: an important food fish in many countries.
any of various other fishes of the family Cyprinidae.
a freshwater teleost food fish, Cyprinus carpio, having a body covered with cycloid scales, a naked head, one long dorsal fin, and two barbels on each side of the mouth: family Cyprinidae
any other fish of the family Cyprinidae; a cyprinid
What does -carp mean? The combining form -carp is used like a suffix to refer to fruit or a fruiting body. A fruiting body is an organ that produces spores, which develops into a part of a fruit. It is often used in scientific terms, especially in biology and botany. The combining form -carp ultimately comes from the Greek karpós, meaning “fruit.” The combining form -carpic is used to form adjectives of words ending in -carp. Equivalent to -carpic is -carpous, meaning “fruited.”Want to know more? Read our Words That Use -carpic and -carpous articles.
1200–50; Middle English carpen to speak, prate < Old Norse karpa to brag, wrangle
1350–1400; Middle English carpe < Middle French < Middle Dutch or Middle Low German karpe; cognate with Old High German karpfo
< New Latin -carpium < Greek -karpion, derivative of karpós fruit
A carp is a type of fish found in fresh water. To carp is to complain and gripe repeatedly, especially about little things. Don’t carp about the rain if you live in the rain forest. A carp is a freshwater fish belonging to the Cyprinidae family, which is native to Europe and Asia. To carp, on the other hand, is universal. To carp is to complain and whine in a particularly annoying way. Someone who always complains about the same things over and over loves to carp. Carping is a little like nagging: no one wants to listen to it. People who carp find fault with almost everything.
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The agency has been working with staff at Milton Country Park, near Cambridge, to develop one of its ponds into a haven for crucian carp, a protected native species in the UK.
From BBC • May 10, 2026
The big worry now is that the carp are migrating closer to the Great Lakes, where they could endanger the walleye, bass and trout that support the region’s $5 billion fishing industry.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
The firefighter has a side business taking tourists bow-fishing for the carp along the Illinois River, where he rigs nets around the boat for protection.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
He includes some carp recipes in his “Can’t Beat ‘Em, Eat ‘Em!” cookbook, and wants to start a business to sell frozen Copi croquettes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
And they ate the flesh of the carp.
From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
