sea wolf
Americannoun
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any of several large, voracious, marine fishes, as the wolffish or sea bass.
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a pirate.
Etymology
Origin of sea wolf
Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The etymology is that it's a contraction of "sea wolf", which was what stalwart English peasants dubbed the Viking invaders.
From BBC • Oct. 3, 2015
Through the dark Arctic night slipped a sleek, grey sea wolf, searching for the sheep of the sea.
From Time Magazine Archive
All afternoon its broadcasts of news bulletins and classical music were interrupted by such incongruous phrases as "meat pie," "sea wolf" and "wool string"�military codes calling reservists to duty.
From Time Magazine Archive
Among U.S. shippers, the Isbrandtsen Steamship Line is a lone sea wolf.
From Time Magazine Archive
Lest it should spoil the jest, and while the jest outranked all other entertainment, they obeyed as though I had been indeed that fierce sea wolf.
From To Have and to Hold by Johnston, Mary
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
