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catfish

catfish

60 1.0
A fish with whisker-like feelers often eaten as food
  • noun
  • /ˈkætˌfɪʃ/
translation icon : bagre
  • Like a blackened catfish dinner!
  • channel catfish
  • catfish ponds
  • catfish farm

Let's go check out the catfish rods that we set up last night.

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Examples

  • I ordered a delicious catfish fillet for dinner at the restaurant last night.

  • I thought I might make some catfish enchiladas for tomorrow.

  • The catfish just jumped right into your frying pan.

  • We would camp on sandbars and cook catfish over a driftwood fire.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • The house specialty was fried catfish and hush puppies made with beer.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The chef prepared a spicy catfish dish with a side of coleslaw.

  • We caught a giant catfish while fishing at the lake during our summer vacation.

Synonyms

bullhead
vscatfish
  • US
1 7.7

A small freshwater fish like a catfish with a wide flat head

is the wider category found in many waters and used as food
bullhead catfish
vscatfish
  • US
1 6.4

A small fish with a thick body, broad flat head and whisker-like feelers near its mouth

is the broader food and habitat category rather than one regional group
siluriform fish
vscatfish
  • Specialized
8.4

A freshwater fish like a catfish that lives near river bottoms and has whisker-like feelers around its mouth

is the common, often eaten fish type across fresh and deep waters
flathead catfish
vscatfish
  • US
7.0

A large catfish with a wide flat head and a lower jaw that sticks out

is the general whiskered fish group, not limited to large flat-headed types
blue channel catfish
vscatfish
  • US
6.7

A large catfish with bluish gray skin and a forked tail that lives in rivers like the Mississippi

is the overall whiskered fish idea, not only this colored river species
mudcat
vscatfish
  • US
8.4

A large catfish from US rivers and lakes that people often eat

is the general edible whiskered fish type found in various waters
spoonbill catfish
vscatfish
  • US
8.2

A large freshwater fish with a flat head and long spoon-shaped snout for finding food in muddy water

is the broader whiskered fish category, not limited to this head shape
European catfish
vscatfish
  • UK
6.5

A very large freshwater fish from European rivers that can grow over two meters

is the wider category covering many species across regions and habitats
sea catfish
vscatfish
8.1

A fish with small whiskers that lives in the sea and is often not eaten

is the general whiskered fish group typically associated with food and freshwater

Compounds

1 3.5

A freshwater fish with whisker-like feelers common in North America and often eaten

1 4.6

A large freshwater fish with blue skin that lives in North American rivers

1 6.4

A small fish with a thick body, broad flat head and whisker-like feelers near its mouth

1 6.7

A freshwater fish from South America with bony plates on its body

A large catfish with bluish gray skin and a forked tail that lives in rivers like the Mississippi

electric catfish
  • South African
8.0

A freshwater fish from African rivers that makes electric shocks

A very large freshwater fish from European rivers that can grow over two meters

A large catfish with a wide flat head and a lower jaw that sticks out

A fish with small whiskers that lives in the sea and is often not eaten

shovelnose catfish
  • Specialized
8.2

A large river fish with a flat head and a long pointed nose found in central United States

A large freshwater fish with a flat head and long spoon-shaped snout for finding food in muddy water

How Armored

armored sea robin
  • Specialized
9.9
armored catfish
  • US
1 6.7
catfish
60 1.0

Surface Forms

catfish singular
catfishes plural

Morphology

catfish = cat + fish (transparent) = cat + fish

A straightforward compound whose meaning (a type of fish) is directly suggested by the components 'cat' + 'fish'.

Etymology

Catfish gets its name from the fish's long, whisker-like feelers that look like a cat's whiskers, so people simply called it 'catfish'. That's why a catfish is a fish with whisker-like feelers often found in rivers and eaten as food.