PUFFER (puffer)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: puffer   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does puffer mean? 

• PUFFER (noun)
  The noun PUFFER has 2 senses:

1. delicacy that is highly dangerous because of a potent nerve poison in ovaries and liver

2. any of numerous marine fishes whose elongated spiny body can inflate itself with water or air to form a globe; several species contain a potent nerve poison; closely related to spiny puffers

  Familiarity information: PUFFER used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PUFFER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Delicacy that is highly dangerous because of a potent nerve poison in ovaries and liver

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Synonyms:

blowfish; puffer; pufferfish; sea squab

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

saltwater fish (flesh of fish from the sea used as food)

Meronyms (substance of "puffer"):

tetrodotoxin (a powerful neurotoxin found in the ovaries of pufferfish)

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

fugu (a blowfish highly prized as a delicacy in Japan but highly dangerous because the skin and organs are poisonous)

Holonyms ("puffer" is a part of...):

blowfish; globefish; puffer; pufferfish (any of numerous marine fishes whose elongated spiny body can inflate itself with water or air to form a globe; several species contain a potent nerve poison; closely related to spiny puffers)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any of numerous marine fishes whose elongated spiny body can inflate itself with water or air to form a globe; several species contain a potent nerve poison; closely related to spiny puffers

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

blowfish; globefish; puffer; pufferfish

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

plectognath; plectognath fish (tropical marine fishes having the teeth fused into a beak and thick skin covered with bony plates or spines)

Meronyms (parts of "puffer"):

blowfish; puffer; pufferfish; sea squab (delicacy that is highly dangerous because of a potent nerve poison in ovaries and liver)

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

family Tetraodontidae; Tetraodontidae (puffers)

Derivation:

puff (to swell or cause to enlarge)