filefish

[ fahyl-fish ]

noun,plural (especially collectively) file·fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) file·fish·es.
  1. any of several flattened marine fishes of the family Monacanthidae, having an elongated head with a small mouth and small, spiny scales.

  2. a triggerfish.

Origin of filefish

1
First recorded in 1765–75; file2 + fish

Words Nearby filefish

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for filefish

filefish

/ (ˈfaɪlˌfɪʃ) /


nounplural -fish or -fishes
  1. any tropical triggerfish, such as Alutera scripta, having a narrow compressed body and a very long dorsal spine

Origin of filefish

1
C18: referring to its file-like scales

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