flatfish

American  

[flat-fish] / ˈflætˌfɪʃ /

noun

• flatfish,
  plural
• flatfishes
  plural

1. any fish of the order Heterosomata (Pleuronectiformes), including the halibut, sole, flounder, etc., having a greatly compressed body and swimming on one side, with both eyes on the upper side in the adult.

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flatfish British  

/ ˈflætˌfɪʃ /

noun

1. any marine spiny-finned fish of the order Heterosomata , including the halibut, plaice, turbot, and sole, all of which (when adult) swim along the sea floor on one side of the body, which is highly compressed and has both eyes on the uppermost side

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• flatfish
  plural
• flatfishes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of flatfish

First recorded in 1700–10; flat ¹ + fish

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

flatfish flatfishes

“We really do everything we can to avoid these crab,” said TJ Durnan, captain of the Alaska Spirit, a Washington-based boat that fishes for flatfish in the Bering Sea.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 3, 2022

But other fish — such as Arctic cod, capelin and flatfish — evolved to thrive in this environment, with the cold pool serving as a protective barrier.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2021

The region is also known as a playground for aquatic species such as worms, flatfish and shellfish, and as a home or resting spot for dozens of species of birds.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 12, 2021

Fluke often is confused with flounder, another bottom-dwelling flatfish, and there is not too much of a culinary difference between the two.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 17, 2018

By this admirable arrangement, whole flocks of pigeons, certain bevies of quails, shoals of flatfish, bass, and sundry woodcock, found their way into the presence of the company.

From The Spy by James Fenimore Cooper

Pulled by a sailboat going with the wind and tide, the trawl raked the seafloor and scared flatfishes like flounder, halibut, and sole into the net.

From Scientific American ● May 24, 2013

The flatfishes have the body flattened, swim on the side, and have eyes on one side, as the flounder, turbot, and halibut.

From The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary Section F, G and H by Project Gutenberg

Other bottom feeders occur in less numbers, the pollock and the cusk perhaps being next in order of importance, with hake and a considerable amount of the various flatfishes in the otter trawls.

From Fishing Grounds of the Gulf of Maine by Walter H. Rich