weakfish

American  

[week-fish] / ˈwikˌfɪʃ /

noun

weakfish, plural weakfishes plural

1. any food fish of the genus Cynoscion, as C. regalis, inhabiting waters along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States.

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weakfish British  

/ ˈwiːkˌfɪʃ /

noun

1. any of several sciaenid sea trouts, esp Cynoscion regalis, a food and game fish of American Atlantic coastal waters

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• weakfish
  plural
• weakfishes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of weakfish

An Americanism dating back to 1790–1800; from Dutch weekvis (obsolete), equivalent to week “soft, weak ” + vis fish

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

weakfish

For example, she said, the weakfish population has also been hurt by high levels of predation and disease in recent years.

From New York Times ● Jul. 11, 2023

Menhaden, called the most important fish in the bay by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, are an important food source for predator fish, including striped bass, bluefish and weakfish, and birds and whales.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 30, 2021

The fishing was better there, anyway: Trump and his buddies fished all day long, hauling in fluke, weakfish, and porgies, while beachgoers admired the boat from afar.

From The New Yorker ● Sep. 18, 2019

“When there’s bunker in the water, I have striped bass, weakfish and bluefish for my customers to catch,” said Capt.

From New York Times ● Dec. 15, 2012

Why it is called the weakfish, I do not know, unless because when it has been out of the water its flesh softens and soon becomes unfit for food.

From Authors and Writers Associated with Morristown With a Chapter on Historic Morristown by Colles, Julia Keese