channel catfish

noun

: a large black-spotted catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) that is an important freshwater food fish of the U.S. and Canada

called also channel cat

Examples of channel catfish in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web For American shad, blue catfish or channel catfish, the consumption recommendation is one meal annually for women of childbearing age and children and seven meals for other adults. Julia Musto, Fox News, 14 July 2023 Ohio’s record-setter is a 37-pound, 10-ounce, 41.5-inch channel catfish. cleveland, 20 July 2023 Fish found dead included bass, channel catfish, common carp, and one or more species of sucker fish. Trisha Ahmed, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2023 The Field’s vaults, which include some 2 million fish specimens under McMahan’s care, were perfect for the study, which chose four common species, channel catfish, largemouth bass, sand shiners and round gobies, trying to use five specimens per species per decade. Steve Johnson, chicagotribune.com, 6 May 2021 While perfect for getting the most out of a school of channel catfish, its sharp No. 6 treble is small on the spectrum of catfish hooks. Pete M. Anderson, Field & Stream, 20 Mar. 2023 Upstream from Cave-in-Rock in deep southern Illinois, channel catfish pulled from the Ohio River had a whopping 135,000 ppt of PFOS. Michael Hawthorne, Anchorage Daily News, 17 Jan. 2023 Closer to Chicago, the agency found 25,500 ppt in channel catfish from the Fox River in Lake Barrington. Michael Hawthorne, Anchorage Daily News, 17 Jan. 2023 Although just a few miles from the border with Mexico, Parker Canyon Lake sits at 5,400 feet elevation — higher than Payson — and contains both cold and warm water species, including rainbow trout, largemouth bass, sunfish and channel catfish. Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 6 Jan. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'channel catfish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1820, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of channel catfish was in 1820

Dictionary Entries Near channel catfish

Cite this Entry

“Channel catfish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/channel%20catfish. Accessed 2 Oct. 2023.

More from Merriam-Webster on channel catfish

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!