flying fish

American  

noun

1. 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.

2. Astronomy. Flying Fish, the constellation Volans.

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flying fish British  

noun

1. 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

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Etymology

Origin of flying fish

First recorded in 1505–15

Example Sentences

The crew also find comfort in the wonders of the ocean - dolphins and flying fish, and one night an encounter with a pod of friendly minke whales, swimming in bio-luminescent water.

From BBC

The flying fish is a national symbol in Barbados and a key part of the island's cuisine.

From BBC

With no smartphone to scroll, she tried to find something to enjoy in the glossy pages — an article about flying fishes, the horoscopes, a feature on male yeast infections.

From Los Angeles Times

When writing about nature — the moonlight on the water, the vicious storms, the silvery flying fish she watches with rapt amazement — Heywood is at her best.

From Los Angeles Times

In the distance now and then I would see dolphins; closer in, flying fish; and still closer, at the stern, sharks waiting for the daily garbage from the galley.

From Literature