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numbfish

[ nuhm-fish ]
/ ˈnʌmˌfɪʃ /

noun, plural (especially collectively) numb·fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) numb·fish·es.

an electric ray, so called from its power of numbing its prey by means of electric shocks.

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Origin of numbfish

First recorded in 1705–15; numb + fish

Words nearby numbfish

numbers pool, Number Ten, number theory, number two, number work, numbfish, numbing, numbles, numbskull, numdah, numen
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for numbfish

numbfish
/ (ˈnʌmˌfɪʃ) /

noun plural -fish or -fishes

any of several electric rays, such as Narcine tasmaniensis (Australian numbfish)

Word Origin for numbfish

C18: so called because it numbs its victims
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