parrotfish

[ par-uht-fish ]

/ ˈpær ətˌfɪʃ /

Save This Word!

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

any of various chiefly tropical marine fishes, especially of the family Scaridae: so called because of their brilliant coloring and the shape of their jaws.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Also called pollyfish.

Origin of parrotfish

First recorded in 1705–15; parrot + fish

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use parrotfish in a sentence

A shoal of scarlet and green parrot-fish pursue a tribe striped with blue and orange.
Through the Malay Archipelago|Emily Richings
They employ it as they do the parrot-fish, to give a different colour to the plumage of their parrots.
The Western World|W.H.G. Kingston
There is strange fishing, sea snakes, parrot fish and the like.
The Wanderings of a Spiritualist|Arthur Conan Doyle
The most curious of these is the parrot-fish, whose head is shaped like the beak of the parrot, and whose color is light green.
Memoirs of Service Afloat, During the War Between the States|Raphael Semmes

Ang mulmul langsa nga isdà, The parrot fish has an intense fishy taste.
A Dictionary of Cebuano Visayan|John U. Wolff

British Dictionary definitions for parrotfish

parrotfish

/ (ˈpærətˌfɪʃ) /

noun plural -fish or -fishes

any brightly coloured tropical marine percoid fish of the family Scaridae, having parrot-like jaws

Australian any of various brightly coloured marine fish of the family Labridae

any of various similar fishes

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