squirrelfish
[ skwur-uhl-fish, skwuhr- or, especially British, skwir- ]
noun,plural (especially collectively) squir·rel·fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) squir·rel·fish·es.
any of several brightly colored, nocturnal fishes of the family Holocentridae, inhabiting shallow waters of tropical reefs, especially the reddish Holocentrus ascensionis of the West Indies, armed with sharp spines and scales.
Origin of squirrelfish
1First recorded in 1795–1805; perhaps after the sound it makes out of water, likened to a squirrel's bark
Words Nearby squirrelfish
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use squirrelfish in a sentence
Tiny demoiselles fluttered around them, and a pair of red squirrelfish watched from the shelter of a purple coral fan.
The Wailing Octopus | Harold Leland Goodwin
British Dictionary definitions for squirrelfish
squirrelfish
/ (ˈskwɪrəlˌfɪʃ) /
nounplural -fish or -fishes
any tropical marine brightly coloured teleost fish of the family Holocentridae
Origin of squirrelfish
1C18: so called because it can make a squirrel-like noise
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
Browse