sunfish

1 of 2

noun

sun·fish ˈsən-ˌfish

: ocean sunfish

: any of numerous North American freshwater bony fishes (family Centrarchidae, especially genus Lepomis) usually with a deep compressed body and metallic luster

Sunfish

2 of 2

trademark

—used for a small light sailboat that has one sail

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Orcas also seem to enjoy penguin breast meat and sunfish intestines, Meyer says. —

Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 11 Apr. 2023 These sunfish are often confused with ocean sunfish, Mola mola, but their differences were recently clarified. —

CBS News, 20 Oct. 2022 Live baits like sunfish and frogs work best. —

Keith Sutton, Outdoor Life, 24 Nov. 2020 Roberts used a crankbait to catch the redbreast sunfish that weighed 1 pound, 12.32 ounces, as reported by Georgia Outdoor News. —

David Strege, USA TODAY, 14 May 2022 The record breaker is a bump-head sunfish (Mola alexandrini). —

Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2022 Last December, scientists in Portugal got word that fishermen and boaters had spotted an enormous dead sunfish floating in the central North Atlantic. —

Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Oct. 2022 To be fair, the sunfish (Mola mola) is a pretty weird fish. —

Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 25 Sep. 2015 Ocean sunfish are listed as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. —

Orlando Mayorquin, USA TODAY, 21 Oct. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sunfish.' 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

Noun

circa 1630, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of sunfish was circa 1630

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Sunfish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sunfish. Accessed 4 Jun. 2023.

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Kids Definition

sunfish

noun

sun·fish ˈsən-ˌfish

: a very large sea fish that is flattened from side to side and has long fins and a small mouth

: any of a family of North American freshwater fishes that are related to the perches, are often brightly colored, and usually have a body that is flattened from side to side