pilotfish

[ pahy-luht-fish ]

/ ˈpaɪ lətˌfɪʃ /

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

a small, marine fish, Naucrates ductor, often swimming with sharks.

any of various other fishes having similar habits.

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Origin of pilotfish

First recorded in 1625–35; pilot + fish

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

How to use pilotfish in a sentence

And sharks meant pilot-fish, and remoras, and various sorts of parasitic creatures.
The Cruise of the Snark|Jack London
Alighting at the ferry, they started up Front street, Rose in lead, he being pilot-fish.
Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to London Prison|Austin Biron Bidwell
The pilot-fish were wildly excited; they stopped to see what was going to happen.
The House with the Mezzanine and Other Stories|Anton Tchekoff
Each moment I fancied I could feel the pilot-fish touching me, and I almost screamed with agony.
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Volume 1, No. 4, September, 1850|Various

We ate also pilot fish, and remoras; in fact, the sea yielded up its creatures abundantly to our larder.
Through the South Seas with Jack London|Martin Johnson

British Dictionary definitions for pilotfish

pilot fish

noun

a small carangid fish, Naucrates ductor, of tropical and subtropical seas, marked with dark vertical bands: often accompanies sharks and other large fishes

any of various similar or related 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