piranha
Americannoun
-
piranhas,
plural
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piranha
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of piranha
1865–70; < Portuguese < Tupi
Explanation
A piranha is a fish with famously sharp teeth. Don't go swimming in certain South American rivers if you want to avoid piranhas! These freshwater fish are terrifyingly described as "voraciously carnivorous," meaning they eat meat with great enthusiasm. Humans aren't often bitten by piranhas, but it does happen in some parts of South America. You also can't buy a piranha as a pet in many parts of the world — and if you do, it's best not to get two of them, since the weaker fish is often killed by the stronger one.
Vocabulary lists containing piranha
English Words Derived from Indigenous Languages of the Americas
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Amazing Animals, List 1
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South America - Middle School
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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.
See Examples For:
In August 2024, Banksy painted piranha fish on a City of London Police sentry box.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
That set off a competitive scramble among other Mexican states, like feeding time at a piranha tank.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 24, 2023
Directed by Pierre Perifel, “The Bad Guys” centers on a band of former criminals — a wolf, a piranha, a snake, a tarantula and a shark — on a mission to improve their villainous reputations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2022
White once said her character Sue Ann Nivens in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” could be “icky-sweet” but was “really a piranha type.”
From Washington Times ● Dec. 31, 2021
Not even Rondon, who was missing a little toe after a piranha bit it off.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
It was the ninth Banksy to appear in as many days in London and follows images of a goat, elephants, monkeys, a wolf, pelicans, a cat, piranhas and a rhinoceros.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2024
"We're on an island and pieces are being chipped away by piranhas in the water," he said.
From Salon ● Jan. 10, 2023
Known as vegetarian piranhas, pacu can reach up to 1 meter long.
From Science Magazine ● Jan. 4, 2023
A black bear, a tortoise, meerkats, otters, elephants, hogs, hippos, jaguars, cassowaries, snow leopards, flamingos, piranhas, peccaries and howler monkeys.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2021
I do this as threateningly as I can, thinking of crocodiles, sharks, black piranhas for courage.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
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.
