pilot fish
Britishnoun
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a small carangid fish, Naucrates ductor, of tropical and subtropical seas, marked with dark vertical bands: often accompanies sharks and other large fishes
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any of various similar or related fishes
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“They’re like pilot fish eating off the back of the shark,” said Jonathan Bush, a founder of Athenahealth, a health technology company that has developed electronic medical records and billing systems.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 25, 2022
If Frieze is the shark, they’re the pilot fish.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2020
Ani Alvarado, her two young sons trailing close behind like pilot fish, sliced nimbly through the crowd.
From New York Times • Nov. 9, 2018
These apex predators are surrounded by clouds of pilot fish that snap up the scraps: places such as Monaco, Jersey and the Cayman Islands.
From The Guardian • Jul. 12, 2018
He would sweep into a room, working a cigarette in his fingers, and people would trail him like pilot fish.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
