archerfish

[ ahr-cher-fish ]

noun,plural (especially collectively) ar·cher·fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) ar·cher·fish·es.
  1. a small fish, Toxotes jaculatrix, of brackish and fresh waters in southeastern Asia, that preys upon shoreside spiders and insects by spitting drops of water at them and knocking them into the water.

  2. any of several closely related fishes of the family Toxotidae.

Origin of archerfish

1
First recorded in 1885–90; archer + fish

Words Nearby archerfish

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for archerfish

archerfish

/ (ˈɑːtʃəˌfɪʃ) /


nounplural -fish or -fishes
  1. any freshwater percoid fish of the family Toxotidae of S and SE Asia and Australia, esp Toxotes jaculatrix, that catch insects by spitting water at them

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