milkfish

American  

[milk-fish] / ˈmɪlkˌfɪʃ /

noun

plural

milkfishes,

plural

milkfish

1. a herringlike fish, Chanos chanos, found in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

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milkfish British  

/ ˈmɪlkˌfɪʃ /

noun

1. a large silvery tropical clupeoid food and game fish, Chanos chanos: family Chanidae

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Etymology

Origin of milkfish

First recorded in 1875–80; milk + fish, so called for its color

Example Sentences

Abeta says the administration is also developing ocean farming of species like milkfish, snapper and sea cucumbers to support exports and domestic food security.

From BBC • Apr. 26, 2026

The menu is filled with classic Filipino dishes; pork sisig, silog paired with everything from milkfish to longanisa, beef calderata, crispy fried pork leg and lumpia.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 24, 2021

On a recent visit, daing na bangus — whole fried milkfish, butterflied and divested of bones, with a short tail still attached — arrived bronzed and near monumental, larger than other specimens around town.

From New York Times • May 31, 2018

They will prey on anything they can catch and squeeze into their capacious mouths: mullet, juvenile milkfish, even bonefish.

From New York Times • Jul. 18, 2011

Hawaii was also unique within Polynesia in using mass labor for aquaculture, by constructing large fishponds in which milkfish and mullet were grown.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond