Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A plectognath fish, of any of the several genera Tetrodon, Diodon, and related forms, capable of inflating itself like a ball, or swelling up by swallowing air: the name is given to the globe-fish, bur-fish, puffing-fish, porcupine-fish, rabbit-fish, tambor, puffer, etc.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) Any plectognath fish that dilates itself, as the bur fish, puffer, or diodon.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun zoology Any
plectognath fish thatdilates itself, such as thepufferfish .
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
swell + fish
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Examples
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What it is: One of a family of marine or estuarine fish known as Tetraodontidae whichincludesmany familiar species variously called puffers, puffer fish, balloonfish, blowfish, bubblefish, globefish, swellfish and toadfish.
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