fugu

noun fu·gu \ ˈf(y)ü-(ˌ)gü \

|Updated on: 3 Jun 2018

Definition of fugu

: any of various very poisonous puffer fishes (family Tetraodontidae) that contain tetrodotoxin and that are used as food in Japan after the toxin-containing parts are removed

Recent Examples of fugu from the Web

Unlike fugu, Japan’s riskiest delicacy, lionfish is harmless.

— ben lowy, Smithsonian, "The Lionfish Have Invaded, But a Ragtag Army of Divers and Chefs Are Fighting Back," 23 May 2018
Tiger blowfish is supposed to be the most delicious kind of fugu.

— New York Times, "Japanese Seafood Without the Painful Price Tag, at Wokuni," 22 May 2018
The five packets of fugu that triggered the alarm in Gamagori were sold with their livers still in place, Agence France-Presse reports.

— joseph hincks, Time, "A Japanese City Activated its Emergency Warning System to Stop Residents Eating Poisonous Pufferfish," 16 Jan. 2018
Pufferfish, or fugu, is an expensive delicacy often served in the form of paper-thin sashimi slices.

— joseph hincks, Time, "A Japanese City Activated its Emergency Warning System to Stop Residents Eating Poisonous Pufferfish," 16 Jan. 2018
Search [fugu poison] to find that the poison is tetrodotoxin, aka TTX or tetrodox, and is found primarily in the liver of the puffer fish.

— ken denmead, WIRED, "A Google-a-Day Puzzle for Wednesday, Nov. 9," 9 Nov. 2011

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

Illustration of fugu

Origin and Etymology of fugu

Japanese

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1909

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Medical Dictionary

fugu

noun fu·gu \ ˈf(y)ü-(ˌ)gü \

medical Definition of fugu

: any of various very poisonous puffer fish that contain tetrodotoxin and that are used as food in Japan after the toxin-containing organs are removed