goatfish

American  

[goht-fish] / ˈgoʊtˌfɪʃ /

noun

plural

goatfishes,

plural

goatfish

1. any tropical and subtropical marine fish of the family Mullidae, having a pair of long barbels below the mouth.

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goatfish British  

/ ˈɡəʊtˌfɪʃ /

noun

1. the US name for the red mullet

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Etymology

Origin of goatfish

First recorded in 1630–40; goat + fish

Example Sentences

In late September, the 18,000-square-foot space was sparsely populated with three rays, a cluster of silvery goatfish and multiple tanks of coral.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 28, 2022

Cowfish and goatfish grazed here and there, as a small, curious barracuda patrolled in the distance.

From New York Times • Oct. 8, 2015

Yet even today, if you ask older Hawaiians about “weke”—a goatfish catchall that can designate anything from yellowfin goatfish to bandtail goatfish—“many will get nostalgic,” Van Houtan recounts.

From Scientific American • Aug. 9, 2013

Anything that emerged from the night’s catch—squirrelfish or parrot fish, milky-eyed goatfish dead in the ropes, sling-jawed lionfish with their wings twisted—now lies spread in smudged colors across the Frenchman’s bed.

From The New Yorker • Jul. 26, 2010