bottom-feeder

1 6.5

An animal, often a fish, that lives on the bottom of rivers or lakes and eats dead plants and animals

noun
/ˈbɑːtəmˌfiːdər/

: pez de fondo

Examples

There is nothing reassuring about steep prices in themselves, in any facet of life, only points off for bottom-feeder prices that betray obvious crappiness.

Blog text (11)
Catfish are known as bottom-feeders because they scavenge food from the riverbed.
Many bottom-feeders, like the carp, play a crucial role in maintaining the ecosystem of ponds.
In the aquarium, bottom-feeders help clean up leftover food by eating what sinks to the bottom.

Synonyms

bottom-dweller

vsbottom-feeder

6.7

An animal like a fish that lives and eats on the bottom of a lake, river, or sea

usually eats food found there by scavenging

Surface Forms

bottom-feeder singular

bottom-feeders plural

Morphology

bottom-feeder = bottom + feeder (transparent) = bottom + feed + er

The compound meaning ('an animal that feeds at the bottom') is directly and immediately derivable from 'bottom' + 'feeder'.

Etymology

The word bottom-feeder is made from bottom ('lowest part') and feeder ('one who eats'), giving a clear picture of an animal that eats at the floor of a river, lake, or sea. That's why a bottom-feeder means a fish or other creature that lives near the bottom and eats food found there.