Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A plectognath fish, of any of the several genera Tetrodon, Diodon, and related forms, capable of inflating itself like a ball, or swelling up by swallowing air: the name is given to the globe-fish, bur-fish, puffing-fish, porcupine-fish, rabbit-fish, tambor, puffer, etc.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) Any plectognath fish that dilates itself, as the bur fish, puffer, or diodon.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun zoology Any plectognath fish that dilates itself, such as the pufferfish.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

swell +‎ fish

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word swellfish.

Examples

  • What it is: One of a family of marine or estuarine fish known as Tetraodontidae whichincludesmany familiar species variously called puffers, puffer fish, balloonfish, blowfish, bubblefish, globefish, swellfish and toadfish.

    The Best Stuff on Earth?! 2008

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.