surgeonfish

[ sur-juh n-fish ]

/ ˈsɜr dʒənˌfɪʃ /

noun, plural (especially collectively) sur·geon·fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) sur·geon·fish·es.

any tropical, coral-reef fish of the family Acanthuridae, with one or more sharp spines near the base of the tail fin.

Nearby words

surge tide, surgeon, surgeon general, surgeon's knot, surgeoncy, surgeonfish, surgery, surgical, surgical abdomen, surgical anatomy, surgical anesthesia

Origin of surgeonfish

1870–75, Americanism; surgeon + fish; so called from the resemblance of its spines to a surgeon's instruments

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for surgeonfish

surgeonfish

/ (ˈsɜːdʒənˌfɪʃ) /

noun plural -fish or -fishes

any tropical marine spiny-finned fish of the family Acanthuridae, having a compressed brightly coloured body with one or more knifelike spines at the base of the tail

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