DOGFISH (dogfishes)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: dogfishes   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does dogfish mean? 

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

1. primitive long-bodied carnivorous freshwater fish with a very long dorsal fin; found in sluggish waters of North America

2. any of several small sharks

  Familiarity information: DOGFISH used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DOGFISH (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Primitive long-bodied carnivorous freshwater fish with a very long dorsal fin; found in sluggish waters of North America

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

Amia calva; bowfin; dogfish; grindle

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

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

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

Amia; genus Amia (type genus of the Amiidae)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any of several small sharks

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

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

shark (any of numerous elongate mostly marine carnivorous fishes with heterocercal caudal fins and tough skin covered with small toothlike scales)

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

smooth dogfish (small bottom-dwelling shark found along both Atlantic coasts)

spiny dogfish (small bottom-dwelling dogfishes)

 Context examples 

Based on the new model, the researchers predict that an increase of 1 degree Celsius in seawater temperature, relative to the year 2000, would lead to a 32% increase in methylmercury levels in cod and a 70% increase in spiny dogfish.

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