dogfish

[ dawg-fish, dog- ]

noun,plural (especially collectively) dog·fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) dog·fish·es.

any of several small sharks, especially of the genera Mustelus and Squalus, that are destructive to food fishes.
any of various other fishes, such as the bowfin.

Origin of dogfish

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English; dog + fish

Also called sea dog [see-dawg, dog] /ˈsi ˌdɔg, ˌdɒg/ .

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

How to use dogfish in a sentence

They are all carnivorous creatures, and often exceedingly voracious; and are represented in our seas by the Rays and Dogfishes.
The Sea Shore | William S. Furneaux
The genus Squalus includes the dogfishes, small, greedy sharks abundant in almost all cool seas and in some tropical waters.
A Guide to the Study of Fishes, Volume 1 (of 2) | David Starr Jordan
The cartilaginous fishes include the Sharks, Dogfishes, and Rays.
The Sea Shore | William S. Furneaux

British Dictionary definitions for dogfish

dogfish

/ (ˈdɒɡˌfɪʃ) /

nounplural -fish or -fishes

any of several small spotted European sharks, esp Scyliorhinus caniculus (lesser spotted dogfish): family Scyliorhinidae
any small shark of the family Squalidae, esp Squalus acanthias (spiny dogfish), typically having a spine on each dorsal fin

any small smooth-skinned shark of the family Triakidae, esp Mustelus canis (smooth dogfish or smooth hound)
a less common name for the bowfin

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

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