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squawfish

American

[skwaw-fish] / ˈskwɔˌfɪʃ /

noun

any of several large, voracious cyprinid fishes of the genus Ptychocheilus, inhabiting rivers of the western United States and Canada: The Colorado squawfish, P. lucius, is endangered.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

Etymology

Origin of squawfish

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; squaw + fish

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.

Colorado squawfish A $590 million water project has been put on hold because it would threaten the survival of this outsize predator.

From Time Magazine Archive

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.