parrotfish

[ par-uht-fish ]

noun

, plural (especially collectively) par·rot·fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) par·rot·fish·es.

1. any of various chiefly tropical marine fishes, especially of the family Scaridae: so called because of their brilliant coloring and the shape of their jaws.

parrotfish

/ ˈpærətˌfɪʃ /

noun

1. any brightly coloured tropical marine percoid fish of the family Scaridae, having parrot-like jaws
2. any of various brightly coloured marine fish of the family Labridae
3. any of various similar fishes

Word History and Origins

Origin of parrotfish¹

First recorded in 1705–15; parrot + fish

Example Sentences

On TikTok, where she does not have an account, a snippet from one of her Ted Talks with five facts about parrotfish has more than 400,000 views.

From Los Angeles Times

The final experiment involved attaching the trumpetfish to the side of the parrotfish and moving the pair together.

From DOGO News

When the waters south of Miami turned Jacuzzi hot this summer, topping out at 101.1 degrees Fahrenheit in Manatee Bay, scientists agonized over the impact on parrotfish, grunts, spiny lobsters and coral reefs.

From Scientific American

The scientists began by pulling only the 3D parrotfish over the damselfish habitat.

From DOGO News

When presented with the parrotfish model, however, the damselfish swam up to inspect it but otherwise did not react to its presence.

From New York Times