🐟 A small lake fish 🌊 A huge sea fish 🍽️ Fish as food

sunfish

1 5.3

The meat of small freshwater fish that people cook and eat

noun
/ˈsʌnˌfɪʃ/

: pez sol

For dinner, we decided to have fried sunfish caught right from the nearby lake.

Examples

We had a Sunfish.

Annapolis (2006)
My grandfather often reminisces about the times he would take us fishing for sunfish in the summer.
At the fish market, I found fresh sunfish fillets that were perfect for grilling.

Synonyms

fish

vssunfish

805 1.0

Meat from a water animal that people cook and eat

is narrower covering only members of the American perch-like family eaten as food

freshwater fish

vssunfish

3 2.0

A water animal that lives in rivers or lakes and people eat

is limited to American perch-like family fish eaten as food not all freshwater species

panfish

vssunfish

1 8.0

A small freshwater fish you can eat, often caught for food like bluegill or crappie

is narrower meaning only American perch-like family fish eaten as food

food fish

vssunfish

1 2.1

A fish that people catch or farm to eat

is defined by belonging to the American perch-like family rather than by being raised for food

rock sunfish

vssunfish

6.7

A freshwater fish in North America with a flat round body often found near rocks

is a broader term for various American perch-like family fish used as food

spotted sunfish

vssunfish

8.0

A small freshwater fish with dark spots that people catch for food or fun

is a general term for various American perch-like family fish used as food

Compounds

ocean sunfish

7.0

A very large round flat sea fish with tall fins and a short tail that lives in warm oceans

rock sunfish

6.7

A freshwater fish in North America with a flat round body often found near rocks

spotted sunfish

8.0

A small freshwater fish with dark spots that people catch for food or fun

Surface Forms

sunfish singular

sunfishes plural

Morphology

sunfish = sun + fish (transparent) = sun + fish

As a compound, it straightforwardly refers to the flesh of certain fish species; learners can infer it relates to a type of fish and thus to fish as food.

Etymology

Sunfish meaning the food simply comes from the name of the fish and means the flesh of those freshwater sunfish. So when you see 'sunfish' on a menu, it refers to the meat of the small, perch-like freshwater fish.