puffer fish

noun

Definition of puffer fish

1 : any of a family (Tetraodontidae) of chiefly tropical scaleless marine bony fishes which can distend themselves to a globular form and most of which are highly poisonous

— called also blowfish, globefish, swellfish

— compare fugu

2 : any of various fish of the same order (Tetraodontiformes) as the puffer fish

Examples of puffer fish in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The puffer fish is comically ugly but tasty enough that adventurous eaters ignore the fact that parts of it are poisonous. — Martin Finucane, BostonGlobe.com, "Boston Children’s researchers look to puffer fish as source of possible replacement for opioids," 12 June 2019

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

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Last Updated

25 Jun 2019

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The first known use of puffer fish was in 1869

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puffer fish

noun

variants: or pufferfish

Medical Definition of puffer fish

: any of a family (Tetraodontidae) of chiefly tropical, scaleless, marine fishes that when threatened can distend themselves to a large, roundish form and most of which are highly poisonous

— called also blowfish, globefish

— see fugu