Sunfish

//ˈsʌnˌfɪʃ// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Any of various small freshwater fishes of the family Centrarchidae, often with iridescent colours and having a laterally compressed body.
  2. 2
    small carnivorous freshwater percoid fishes of North America usually having a laterally compressed body and metallic luster: crappies, black bass, bluegills, pumpkinseed wordnet
  3. 3
    Any of various large marine fishes of the family Molidae that have an oval compressed body.
  4. 4
    among the largest bony fish; pelagic fish having an oval compressed body with high dorsal and anal fins and caudal fin reduced to a rudder-like lobe; worldwide in warm waters wordnet
  5. 5
    the lean flesh of any of numerous American perch-like fishes of the family Centrarchidae wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    Of an animal such as a bull or a horse: to twist the body into a crescent shape and roll back and forth. intransitive

Synonyms

All synonyms
centrarchidfishheadfishmolaocean sunfishocean sunfish

Example

More examples

"Then, in the middle of the Tasman Sea, the 98-foot yacht's progress was temporarily halted when it ran into a giant sunfish."

Etymology

* From sun + fish. * (type of fish): Perhaps from the rounded body shape.

Related phrases

longear sunfishmud sunfishocean sunfish

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