stonefish

American  

[stohn-fish] / ˈstoʊnˌfɪʃ /

noun

plural

stonefishes,

plural

stonefish

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

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stonefish British  

/ ˈstəʊnˌfɪʃ /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of stonefish

First recorded in 1660–70; stone + fish

Example Sentences

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 painted and wrote and Googled pictures of stonefish.

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

Inigo pursued him, hurrying past the poisoners, the spitting cobras and Gaboon vipers and, perhaps most quickly lethal of all, the lovely tropical stonefish from the ocean outside India.

From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman