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sawfish

[saw-fish]
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noun, plural (especially collectively) saw·fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) saw·fish·es.
  1. a large, elongated ray of the genus Pristis, living along tropical coasts and lowland rivers, with a bladelike snout bearing strong teeth on each side.
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Origin of sawfish

First recorded in 1655–65; saw1 + fish
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for sawfish

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • He realized that the sawfish had freed him from his dreadful jailer.

    The Haunters of the Silences

    Charles G. D. Roberts

  • The Sawfish is a ray in which the snout is elongated and edged with strong teeth.

    Fast Nine

    Alan Douglas

  • The fish caught with this apparatus are the swordfish57 and the sawfish.

    The Manbos of Mindano

    John M. Garvan

  • And it was to jab harpoons and spears into porpoises and manatee and sawfish, and be dragged about in their boat.

  • Then the sawfish rolled over on its side, turning one edge of the saw toward the surface.

    The Haunters of the Silences

    Charles G. D. Roberts

British Dictionary definitions for sawfish

sawfish

noun plural -fish or -fishes
  1. any sharklike ray of the family Pristidae of subtropical coastal waters and estuaries, having a serrated bladelike mouth
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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

Word Origin and History for sawfish

n.

also saw-fish, 1660s; see saw (n.1.) + fish (n.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper