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definitions

flying fish

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noun

any fish of the family Exocoetidae, having stiff and greatly enlarged pectoral fins enabling it to glide considerable distances through the air after leaping from the water.
(initial capital letters) Astronomy. the constellation Volans.

Origin of flying fish

First recorded in 1505–15
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for flying fish

Historical Examples of flying fish

  • We circled him and drew the flying-fish bait so that he would swim near it.

  • We worked around him awhile, but he would not take a barracuda or a flying-fish.

  • They were not so large as the California flying-fish, nor did they have any blue color.

  • To see these flying-fish this way was provocative of thought.

  • We had three of these flying-fish out as teasers, all close to the boat.

British Dictionary definitions for flying fish

flying fish

noun

any marine teleost fish of the family Exocoetidae, common in warm and tropical seas, having enlarged winglike pectoral fins used for gliding above the surface of the water
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