bullhead

[ bool-hed ]
See synonyms for bullhead on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. any of several North American, freshwater catfishes of the genus Ictalurus, having a rounded or truncate caudal fin.

  2. any of several other fishes, as the freshwater sculpins of the genus Cottus, especially those species having a hornlike spine on each side of the head.

  1. an obstinate or stupid person.

Origin of bullhead

1
An Americanism dating back to 1665–75; bull1 + head

Words Nearby bullhead

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bullhead in a sentence

  • But the police held the old chief captive, and two of them shot him—bullhead and Red Tomahawk.

    The Blue and The Gray | A. R. White
  • “My country calls and I must go,” says the bullhead to himself, and he opens his mouth and the liver disappears.

    Peck's Compendium of Fun | George W. Peck
  • There is no fish that does more thinking or has a better head for grasping great questions, or chunks of liver than the bullhead.

    Peck's Compendium of Fun | George W. Peck
  • A pin hook, a piece of liver, and a cistern pole, is all the capital required to catch a bullhead.

    Peck's Compendium of Fun | George W. Peck
  • The boy gets down on his knees to dissect the bullhead, and get his hook, and it may be that the boy swears.

    Peck's Compendium of Fun | George W. Peck

British Dictionary definitions for bullhead

bullhead

/ (ˈbʊlˌhɛd) /


noun
  1. any of various small northern mainly marine scorpaenoid fishes of the family Cottidae that have a large head covered with bony plates and spines

  2. any freshwater North American catfish of the genus Ameiurus (or Ictalurus), having a large head bearing several long barbels

  1. a scorpion fish, Scorpaena guttata, of North American Pacific coastal waters

  2. informal a stupidly stubborn or unintelligent person

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012