BILLFISH (billfishes)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: billfishes   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does billfish mean? 

• BILLFISH (noun)
  The noun BILLFISH has 4 senses:

1. primitive predaceous North American fish covered with hard scales and having long jaws with needlelike teeth

2. giant warm-water game fish having a prolonged and rounded toothless upper jaw

3. slender long-beaked fish of temperate Atlantic waters

4. elongate European surface-dwelling predacious fishes with long toothed jaws; abundant in coastal waters

  Familiarity information: BILLFISH used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BILLFISH (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Primitive predaceous North American fish covered with hard scales and having long jaws with needlelike teeth

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

billfish; gar; garfish; garpike; Lepisosteus osseus

Hypernyms ("billfish" is a kind of...):

ganoid; ganoid fish (primitive fishes having thick bony scales with a shiny covering)

Holonyms ("billfish" is a member of...):

genus Lepisosteus; Lepisosteus (type genus of the Lepisosteidae: freshwater gars)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Giant warm-water game fish having a prolonged and rounded toothless upper jaw

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("billfish" is a kind of...):

scombroid; scombroid fish (important marine food and game fishes found in all tropical and temperate seas; some are at least partially endothermic and can thrive in colder waters)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "billfish"):

marlin (large long-jawed oceanic sport fishes; related to sailfishes and spearfishes; not completely cold-blooded i.e. able to warm their brains and eyes)

spearfish (any of several large vigorous pelagic fishes resembling sailfishes but with first dorsal fin much reduced; worldwide but rare)

Holonyms ("billfish" is a member of...):

family Istiophoridae; Istiophoridae (sailfishes; spearfishes; marlins)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Slender long-beaked fish of temperate Atlantic waters

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

billfish; saury; Scomberesox saurus

Hypernyms ("billfish" is a kind of...):

teleost; teleost fish; teleostan (a bony fish of the subclass Teleostei)

Holonyms ("billfish" is a member of...):

genus Scomberesox; genus Scombresox; Scomberesox; Scombresox (a genus of Scomberesocidae)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Elongate European surface-dwelling predacious fishes with long toothed jaws; abundant in coastal waters

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

billfish; gar; needlefish

Hypernyms ("billfish" is a kind of...):

teleost; teleost fish; teleostan (a bony fish of the subclass Teleostei)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "billfish"):

timucu (found in warm waters of western Atlantic)

Holonyms ("billfish" is a member of...):

Belonidae; family Belonidae (ferocious fishes of warm regions resembling but unrelated to the freshwater gars)