chimaera
Americannoun
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any fish of the family Chimaeridae, the male of which has a spiny clasping organ over the mouth.
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any similar fish of the group Holocephali, which includes this family.
noun
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any tapering smooth-skinned cartilaginous deep-sea fish of the subclass Holocephali (or Bradyodonti ), esp any of the genus Chimaera. They have a skull in which the upper jaw is fused to the cranium See also rabbitfish
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Greek myth a variant spelling of chimera
Etymology
Origin of chimaera
First recorded in 1795–1805; see origin at chimera
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.
Ghost sharks - also known as chimaera - are rarely spotted, and sightings of their young are even more uncommon.
From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2022
The research also revealed that brown chimaera and black ghost sharks are relatively rare compared with other ghost sharks in New Zealand waters; large, reproducing females are even rarer.
From National Geographic ● Jun. 12, 2017
“On the video camera we saw a kind of chimaera that whizzed by – that’s very, very rare in Australian waters,” she said.
From The Guardian ● May 31, 2017
James's patient was a chimaera: a person who develops from a mixture of two fertilized eggs, usually owing to a merger between embryonic twins in the womb.
From Nature ● Feb. 17, 2015
So I am loth to admit that I have been at so much pains to fight a mere chimaera bombinans.
From Recollections of My Youth by Renan, Ernest
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.
