What does "catfish" mean?
Any fish of the order Siluriformes, mainly found in fresh water, lacking scales, and having barbels like whiskers around the mouth.
Catfish
/ˈkætfɪʃ/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Any fish of the order Siluriformes, mainly found in fresh water, lacking scales, and having barbels like whiskers around the mouth.
- Grammar: catfish is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: siluriform fish, catfishes, cory, deceive.
- Useful contrasts: authenticity, honest person, release.
- Usage evidence: You apparently haven't known the pain of a catfish sting.
How to use "catfish"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "catfish" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "catfish" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "catfish" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "catfish" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "catfish" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "siluriform fish" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "catfish", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any fish of the order Siluriformes, mainly found in fresh water, lacking scales, and having barbels like whiskers around the mouth. countable, uncountable
"“You don’t see catfish that big anymore, except in Chernobyl […] Nobody fishes there anymore, so the catfish thrive. They’ve gotten really enormous, some even twelve or thirteen feet long. They’re bottom-feeders, and apparently the mud still contains a lot of radioactive particles, but the catfish don’t seem to mind.”"
- 2 Someone who creates a false profile on a social media platform in order to deceive people. Internet
"Real people in a picture that was used by a catfish to create a fake identity could have a claim because their likeness was used without permission, Shear said."
- 3 any of numerous mostly freshwater bottom-living fishes of Eurasia and North America with barbels like whiskers around the mouth wordnet
- 4 The meat of such a fish, popular in the Southern U.S. and Central Europe. countable, uncountable
- 5 Such a false profile. Internet
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 large ferocious northern deep-sea food fishes with strong teeth and no pelvic fins wordnet
- 7 flesh of scaleless food fish of the southern United States; often farmed wordnet
Verb
- 1 To fish for catfish. intransitive
"I only use this rod for catfishing."
- 2 To create and operate a fake online profile to deceive (someone). Internet, slang, transitive
"Getting catfished is when someone falls for a person online who is not necessarily real. It can involve pictures, phone calls, social media profiles, text messages, e-mails and even phony friends or family members."
- 3 To deceive someone by professing romantic feelings but actually using a false identity wordnet
Antonyms
Example
"You apparently haven't known the pain of a catfish sting."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "catfish"?
Common synonyms include: siluriform fish, catfishes, cory, deceive, deceiver, fish.
How do you use "catfish" in a sentence?
You apparently haven't known the pain of a catfish sting.
How do you pronounce "catfish"?
Pronounced /ˈkætfɪʃ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From cat + fish. Likely so named for its prominent barbels like a cat's whiskers. Compare West Frisian katfisk (“catfish”), Dutch katvis (“catfish”). Compare also German Seekatze (“catfish”, literally “sea-cat”).
Etymology 2
From the 2010 documentary Catfish, supposedly inspired by the practice of fishermen keeping cod active by storing them with catfish (see sense 1) which nip at their tails.