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damselfish

American

[dam-zuhl-fish] / ˈdæm zəlˌfɪʃ /

noun

any of several chiefly tropical, brilliantly colored, marine fishes of the family Pomacentridae, living among coral reefs.

damselfish British

/ ˈdæmzəlˌfɪʃ /

noun

any small tropical percoid fish of the family Pomacentridae, having a brightly coloured deep compressed body See also anemone fish

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of damselfish

First recorded in 1900–05; damsel + fish

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.

The Cambridge researchers attached 3D plastic models of trumpetfish and parrotfish to a wire pulley system and deployed inside a colony of damselfish.

From DOGO News • Sep. 7, 2023

Trumpetfish like to snack on damselfish and shrimp in coral reefs and sea grass beds around the world.

From New York Times • Aug. 7, 2023

The study examined sites around the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, focusing on a small fish known as the jewel damselfish.

From Scientific American • May 12, 2023

We swam under a rock arch and through a short tunnel as damselfish, and ornate wrasse glided by in a mesmerizing parade.

From Washington Post • Sep. 9, 2022

Some species of damselfish, which also inhabit tropical reefs, also fail to freeze and hide when exposed to the scent of an injured fish — a stimulus that usually serves to warn of predators.

From Nature • Oct. 10, 2017

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023