trunkfish

American

[truhngk-fish] / ˈtrʌŋkˌfɪʃ /

noun

any plectognath fish of the family Ostraciontidae, of warm seas, having a boxlike body encased in bony, polygonal plates.

trunkfish British

/ ˈtrʌŋkˌfɪʃ /

noun

Also called: boxfish. cowfish. any tropical plectognath fish of the family Ostraciidae , having the body encased in bony plates with openings for the fins, eyes, mouth, etc

"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

Inflected Forms

noun

Etymology

Origin of trunkfish

First recorded in 1795–1805; trunk + 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.

Spiny lobsters stuffed with dasheen, a root vegetable similar to taro; braised conch with onions, peppers and garlic; and my personal favorite, stuffed trunkfish.

From Washington Post • Jan. 29, 2015

I'll mention chiefly some trunkfish unique to the Red Sea, the sea of the East Indies, and that part of the ocean washing the coasts of equinoctial America.

From Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Walter, F. P.

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