angelfish

noun

an·gel·fish | \ˈān-jəl-ˌfish

\

Definition of angelfish

1 : any of several laterally compressed brightly colored bony fishes (family Pomacanthidae) of warm seas

2 : a black and silver laterally compressed South American cichlid fish (Pterophyllum scalare) popular in aquariums

— called also scalare

Examples of angelfish in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

At top, a gray angelfish swims along a reef where coral has been planted by restoration workers. — Evan Halper, latimes.com, "Racing to save Florida’s coral from climate change, scientists turn to a once-unthinkable strategy: ‘assisted evolution’," 9 July 2018 A school of black-and-yellow-stripe angelfish darted around me, while a grouper the size of a Smart car lumbered past. — Joshua Hammer, New York Times, "In Eritrea, a Diver’s Dreamscape," 16 Feb. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'angelfish.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about angelfish

Dictionary Entries near angelfish

angel food cake

Statistics for angelfish

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for angelfish

The first known use of angelfish was in 1668

See more words from the same year

Comments on angelfish

What made you want to look up angelfish? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

WORD OF THE DAY

tchotchke

a knickknack or trinket

Test Your Vocabulary

Find the Cousins

Which pair shares a common word ancestor?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ

SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games