catfish

American  

[kat-fish] / ˈkætˌfɪʃ /

noun

catfish, plural catfishes plural

1. any of the numerous fishes of the order or suborder Nematognathi (or Siluroidei), characterized by barbels around the mouth and the absence of scales.

2. a wolffish of the genus Anarhichas.

3. any of various other fishes having a fancied resemblance to a cat.

4. Slang. a person who assumes a false identity or personality on the internet, especially on social media websites, as to deceive, manipulate, or swindle.

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verb (used with or without object)

1. Slang. to deceive, swindle, etc., by assuming a false identity or personality online.

   He fell in love with her online before he realized he'd been catfished.

catfish British  

/ ˈkætˌfɪʃ /

noun

1. any of numerous mainly freshwater teleost fishes having whisker-like barbels around the mouth, esp the silurids of Europe and Asia and the horned pouts of North America

2. another name for wolffish

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Usage

What does catfish mean? Aside from being a delicious kind of river fish, a catfish is a slang term for someone who seduces a person with a false identity online.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• catfish
  plural
• catfishes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of catfish

First recorded in 1605–15; cat + fish

Example Sentences

Previous winners include Arlo Parks, Olivia Dean, Tom Grennan and Catfish and the Bottlemen – all of whom have gone on to major success in the UK and beyond.

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026

For the residents of Catfish Row, “your daddy’s rich” sounds wishful, ironic.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025

Catfish feels like they’d be an SEC team.”

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 30, 2025

The main reason it was created was to give us a way to permanently keep Chesapeake Blue Catfish on our menu.

From Salon • Jul. 16, 2024

Catfish and spray paint in hand, Margo threw the door open, jogged across the Worthingtons’ expansive front lawn, and then hid behind an oak tree.

From "Paper Towns" by John Green