noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   Any of certain freshwater fish of the subfamily Serrasalminae, native to South America; they are characterised by razor-sharp teeth and a reputation of being ferocious predators (despite most species being omnivorous).
2. 2
   small voraciously carnivorous freshwater fishes of South America that attack and destroy living animals wordnet
3. 3
   someone who attacks in search of booty wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

caribefishmaraudermarauderpiranapredator

Example

More examples

"There is a piranha in that jungle river."

Etymology

First attested in 1869. The term entered English either via Portuguese piranha or Spanish piraña, from Old Tupi pirãîa.

Related phrases

piranha etchpiranha solutionred piranhared-bellied piranhasocial piranhasouth american

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.