sunfish

[ suhn-fish ]

noun

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

1. the ocean sunfish, Mola mola.
2. any of various other fishes of the family Molidae.
3. any of several small, brightly colored, spiny-rayed freshwater fishes of the genus Lepomis, of North America, having a deep, compressed body.

sunfish

/ ˈsʌnˌfɪʃ /

noun

1. any large plectognath fish of the family Molidae, of temperate and tropical seas, esp Mola mola, which has a large rounded compressed body, long pointed dorsal and anal fins, and a fringelike tail fin
2. any of various small predatory North American freshwater percoid fishes of the family Centrarchidae, typically having a compressed brightly coloured body

Word History and Origins

Origin of sunfish¹

First recorded in 1620–30; sun + fish

Example Sentences

McNeish, who has examined the fish carcasses since late August, has identified non-native species including bass, sunfish, bullhead catfish and mosquitofish.

From Los Angeles Times

Other winners of a slimy new epoch would be ocean sunfish, a giant bony fish whose individuals can clock in at more than 2,000 pounds and consume jellyfish — and velella — in mass quantities.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s the latest tactic in an ongoing struggle to keep non-native smallmouth bass and green sunfish at bay below the Glen Canyon Dam and to protect a threatened native fish, the humpback chub.

From Seattle Times

Orcas also seem to enjoy penguin breast meat and sunfish intestines, Meyer says.

From Scientific American

A sunfish found near the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean weighed as much as an S.U.V.

From New York Times

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