threadfin

noun

thread·​fin ˈthred-ˌfin How to pronounce threadfin (audio)
: any of various bony fishes (family Polynemidae, especially genus Polydactylus) having elongated filamentous rays on the pectoral fin
also : a fish (such as Dorosoma pretense of the herring family) having usually one similar ray extending from a fin

Examples of threadfin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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This includes the second species the researchers studied — the threadfin butterflyfish. Ari Daniel, NPR, 25 Aug. 2025 Since then, the fishing market has exploded with options from the Doomsday Tackle C-Shad (modeled after a photo of a threadfin shad), to the YUM Sonar Minnow that produced half of Jason Christie’s fish during his 2022 Bassmaster Classic win at Lake Hartwell. David A. Brown, Field & Stream, 27 June 2024 My favorites back home are humpback grouper, threadfin, and striped mullet. Lucas Sin, Bon Appétit, 20 Mar. 2024 In Linnaean taxonomy, hybrids look like algebra—two species names adjoined with an x. A hybrid between a threadfin butterflyfish and a lined butterflyfish becomes C. auriga × C. lineolatus. Sabrina Imbler, Time, 15 Dec. 2022 Slow-troll a lively threadfin behind a planer board, and it might get smashed by a fat landlocked striper. Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 30 Mar. 2020 Hatches of a small feeder fish called threadfin shad are schooling and can attract bass and trout into feeding frenzies. Tom Stienstra, SFChronicle.com, 21 Sep. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1890, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of threadfin was circa 1890

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Cite this Entry

“Threadfin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/threadfin. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

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