ratfish
Americannoun
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ratfish,
plural
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ratfishes
plural
noun
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another name for rabbitfish
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a chimaera, Hydrolagus colliei , of the North Pacific Ocean, which has a long narrow tail
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of ratfish
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.
Scientists studying the spotted ratfish, a shark-like species found in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, discovered that it has rows of teeth growing on top of its head.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2025
Several species of fish patrolled the reefs, including skates, sharks and ratfish, whose large, emerald-green eyes gather the scant light available in these inky depths.
From Scientific American ● Nov. 2, 2023
Although park officials say Strigilodus tollesonae is a shark, they qualify it by noting that the species is more closely related to the modern ratfish than to today’s sharks.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 12, 2023
Both animals belong firmly to the branch of jawed fish called the chondrichthyans, the group of cartilaginous fish that include modern sharks, rays and ratfish.
From New York Times ● Sep. 28, 2022
Also known as chimaera or ratfish, ghost sharks have long fins and vacant eyes that make even great whites seem friendly.
From National Geographic ● Jun. 12, 2017
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.
