SWORDFISH (swordfishes)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: swordfishes   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does swordfish mean? 

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

1. flesh of swordfish usually served as steaks

2. large toothless marine food fish with a long swordlike upper jaw; not completely cold-blooded i.e. they are able to warm their brains and eyes: worldwide in warm waters but feed on cold ocean floor coming to surface at night

  Familiarity information: SWORDFISH used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SWORDFISH (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Flesh of swordfish usually served as steaks

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

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

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

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

swordfish; Xiphias gladius (large toothless marine food fish with a long swordlike upper jaw; not completely cold-blooded i.e. they are able to warm their brains and eyes: worldwide in warm waters but feed on cold ocean floor coming to surface at night)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Large toothless marine food fish with a long swordlike upper jaw; not completely cold-blooded i.e. they are able to warm their brains and eyes: worldwide in warm waters but feed on cold ocean floor coming to surface at night

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

swordfish; Xiphias gladius

Hypernyms ("swordfish" 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)

Meronyms (parts of "swordfish"):

swordfish (flesh of swordfish usually served as steaks)

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

genus Xiphias; Xiphias (type genus of the Xiphiidae)

 Context examples 

"This research is a major advance in understanding how and why ocean predators, such as tuna and swordfish, are accumulating mercury," said Elsie Sunderland, senior author of the paper.

(Mercury levels in fish are on the rise, National Science Foundation)

Four types of fish should be avoided because of typically high mercury levels — tilefish from the Gulf of Mexico, shark, swordfish, and king mackerel.

(Brain benefits of aerobic exercise lost to mercury exposure, NIH)

Add another item to the ever-growing list of the dangerous impacts of climate change: Warming oceans are leading to an increase of the harmful neurotoxicant methylmercury in popular seafood, including cod, Atlantic bluefin tuna and swordfish, according to research led by researchers at Harvard University.

(Mercury levels in fish are on the rise, National Science Foundation)