remora

American  

[rem-er-uh] / ˈrɛm ər ə /

noun

1. any of several fishes of the family Echeneididae, having on the top of the head a sucking disk by which they can attach themselves to sharks, turtles, ships, and other moving objects.

2. Archaic. an obstacle, hindrance, or obstruction.

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remora British  

/ ˈrɛmərə /

noun

1. any of the marine spiny-finned fishes constituting the family Echeneidae . They have a flattened elongated body and attach themselves to larger fish, rocks, etc, by a sucking disc on the top of the head

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Etymology

Origin of remora

1560–70; < Latin: literally, delay, hindrance, derivative of remorārī to linger, delay, equivalent to re- re- + morārī to delay

Example Sentences

Like a very profitable remora attached to a very large shark.

From MarketWatch

That starkness gives the movie the in-the-moment immediacy of a nature doc about a shark and a swarm of remoras.

From Los Angeles Times

While diving, he saw a shark with a remora—a fish which uses suction to hitchhike on larger species—attached to its body, and he had an idea.

From National Geographic

That’s the idea behind a new robot, inspired by remoras—fish that hitchhike onto other animals using an adhesive disk on top of their head.

From Science Magazine

He said when Depp was inebriated, he would also “insult his fans” and call them “remoras,” also known as suckerfish.

From Washington Post