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.

Flying Fish, Astronomy. the constellation Volans.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of flying fish

First recorded in 1505–15

Words nearby flying fish

flying doctor, flying dragon, Flying Dustbin, Flying Dutchman, flying field, flying fish, flying fox, flying frog, flying gurnard, flying head, flying jenny

How to use flying fish in a sentence

The graceful flying-fish, like a fair white bird, goes glancing above the blue magnificence of the tropical seas.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford
On the 6th of August we beheld, for the first time, flying fish, but at such a distance that we could scarcely distinguish them.
A Woman's Journey Round the World|Ida Pfeiffer
"Look out you don't get struck by a flying-fish," his father called to him, bending low in his seat.
The Boy With the U. S. Fisheries|Francis Rolt-Wheeler
One day they caught half a dozen flying fish, which they ate raw.
South American Fights and Fighters|Cyrus Townsend Brady

The Sirens resemble mermaids, having the faces of women, but bodies of flying fish.
The Mysteries of All Nations|James Grant

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