stonefish

American

[stohn-fish] / ˈstoʊnˌfɪʃ /

noun

a tropical scorpion fish, Synanceja verrucosa, having dorsal-fin spines from which a deadly poison is discharged.

stonefish British

/ ˈstəʊnˌfɪʃ /

noun

a venomous tropical marine scorpaenid fish, Synanceja verrucosa, that resembles a piece of rock on the seabed

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of stonefish

First recorded in 1660–70; stone + 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.

See Examples For:

stonefish

CSL Seqirus makes 7,000 vials a year – including snake, spider, stonefish and box jellyfish antivenoms - and they are valid for 36 months.

From BBC ● May 16, 2025

I can’t believe these utter bozos didn’t tell me there were stonefish here, I kept thinking, over and over.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 30, 2020

It had a comically grouchy face, but stonefish — the world’s most venomous — are no joke.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 21, 2019

Uruguay plays like a stonefish, hunkering down in the seafloor until it’s time to pounce.

From Slate ● Jun. 30, 2018

The green speckled recluse doesn’t destroy as quickly as the stonefish.

From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023