John Dory

American  

[dawr-ee, dohr-ee] / ˈdɔr i, ˈdoʊr i /

noun

John Dories plural

1. any fish of the family Zeidae, especially Zeus faber, of European seas, having a vertically compressed body and long spines in the dorsal fin.

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John Dory British  

/ ˈdɔːrɪ /

noun

1. a European dory (the fish), Zeus faber , having a deep compressed body, spiny dorsal fins, and massive mobile jaws

2. a related fish, Zeus australis , which is a valued food fish of Australia

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• John Dories
  plural

Etymology

Origin of John Dory

1600–10; see dory ²; jocular formation

Example Sentences

Their open-faced toasts are great — their John Dory Tuna Toasts are always delicious.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 17, 2025

My first taste of Epié’s cooking was a little globe of puff pastry atop a maritime “bouillabaisse” of John Dory and other fish, a soup that includes tender macaroni and a rouille teasing with harissa.

From Washington Post • Feb. 10, 2023

Fitted snugly to one side of the former Del Posto, the narrow restaurant space that was once John Dory is now a pizzeria: Mel’s, the first restaurant of a new food complex here.

From New York Times • Mar. 8, 2022

Mr Moon will eat a baked John Dory sea fish that is commonly served in his hometown, the South Korean port city, Busan.

From BBC • Apr. 24, 2018

"You can feel how you like," John Dory answered bluntly, "so long as I get the handcuffs on Spencer Fitzgerald's wrists!"

From Peter Ruff and the Double Four by Oppenheim, E. Phillips (Edward Phillips)