crawfish
Americannoun
plural
crawfish,plural
crawfishesverb (used without object)
noun
Usage
What does crawfish mean? Crawfish is another name for a crayfish, a freshwater crustacean related to the lobster but smaller.Crawfish is also sometimes used as the name of several similar saltwater crustaceans, especially the spiny lobster (also called the rock lobster).The plural of crawfish can be crawfish or crawfishes. When used as a plural, crawfish typically refers to them collectively, while crawfishes usually refers to two or more kinds or species (but this isn’t always the case).Crawfish aren’t fish—they’re shellfish. Other types of crustaceans include crabs, lobsters, and shrimp. There are several different species of both freshwater and saltwater crawfish. Freshwater ones are also referred to by the names crawdad and crawdaddy. Use of these terms varies by region.Crawfish can also be used as an informal verb meaning to back out of something or retreat—like a crawfish retreating under a rock.Example: When I was a kid, we used to catch crawfish in the creek.
Etymology
Origin of crawfish
1615–25; earlier crafish, cravish, cravis, variant outcomes of Middle French crevice crayfish
Compare meaning
How does crawfish compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
Government data shows crab landings down on previous years but catches of lobster, crawfish and scallops stable.
From BBC
When Kelsey Barnard Clark won the sixteenth season of "Top Chef," set in Kentucky, she clinched victory with a dish that defied fine dining expectations: cornbread and buttermilk with crawfish, boiled peanuts, cucumber and watermelon.
From Salon
“My parents think I’m on my camping trip. Plus I love beignets and po’boys and gumbo and pralines. Not crawfish though. I can’t eat anything that has eyes.”
From Literature
“We are so excited,” James Clesi said as he dished out cajun crawfish dirty rice.
From Seattle Times
And while Louisianans are still buying and selling crawfish, a staple in Gulf Coast seafood boils and a part of Louisiana’s “way of life,” the crisis can be felt across the state.
From Seattle Times
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.
