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darter

American  
[dahr-ter] / ˈdɑr tər /

noun

  • darters
    plural
  1. a person or thing that darts or moves swiftly.

  2. anhinga.

  3. any of several small, darting, freshwater fishes of the perch family, inhabiting streams of eastern North America.


darter British  
/ ˈdɑːtə /

noun

  1. Also called: anhinga, snakebird. any aquatic bird of the genus Anhinga and family Anhingidae, of tropical and subtropical inland waters, having a long slender neck and bill: order Pelecaniformes (pelicans, cormorants, etc)

  2. any small brightly coloured North American freshwater fish of the genus Etheostoma and related genera: family Percidae (perches)

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of darter

First recorded in 1555–65; dart + -er 1


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.

See Examples For:

It involved the snail darter, a tiny, then-endangered fish whose habitat would have been harmed by the proposed Tellico Dam in Tennessee.

From Salon ● Apr. 7, 2026

The nine darter put Littler 6-5 up but Cross pushed him all the way and the teenager took victory with a 103.76 average in the final.

From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2024

Freshwater fanshell mussels rely on darter fish, including the tangerine and Roanoke, for their survival.

From National Geographic ● Dec. 12, 2023

As I watched, he photographed a striated darter that didn't yet have a name, a Yellow Bass, an Orangefin Shiner and a giant crayfish discovered in 2011 in the very creek we were at.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 20, 2023

They trudged past darter birds on the tops of trees, drying their sodden wings spread out like laundry against the sky.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

"At 17, Michael was unbelievable, the same as Luke, hitting nine darters in TV tournaments," Bray told BBC Radio 5 Live.

From BBC ● Jan. 3, 2024

At one point in the proceedings Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr., asked him, “What purpose is served, if any, by these little darters? Are they used for food?”

From Scientific American ● Oct. 20, 2023

They dipped bowls into buckets full tiny pearl darters from a private hatchery and eased them into the water.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 1, 2023

What annoys Craig Belke is the Disney darters who jump in front of him as he carefully edges his scooter along, trying to keep a gap between himself and the person ahead of him.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 28, 2019

There are divers and darters, too, in abundance.

From The Western World Picturesque Sketches of Nature and Natural History in North and South America by William Henry Giles Kingston

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