wrasse

noun

plural wrasses also wrasse
: any of a large family (Labridae) of elongate usually brilliantly colored marine bony fishes that usually bury themselves in sand at night and include important food fishes as well as a number of popular aquarium fishes

Examples of wrasse in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Cleaner wrasse The common cleaner wrasse fish, which averages just around four inches in length and is found abundantly in coral reefs, wouldn’t seem like an obvious contender for an animal intelligence list at first glance. Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 4 July 2024 After tissue samples were taken and DNA analyses were conducted, it was revealed that the fish belonged to a previously unknown type of wrasse, a family of colorful and diverse fish. Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2024 The wrasse measured 18 inches from nose to tail and had a 13-inch girth. Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 27 Sep. 2023 Some other wrasse species, known as cleaner wrasse, meticulously clean sea lice off bigger fish. Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 27 Sep. 2023 See all Example Sentences for wrasse 

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

Word History

Etymology

Cornish gwragh, wragh hag, wrasse

First Known Use

circa 1672, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of wrasse was circa 1672

Dictionary Entries Near wrasse

Cite this Entry

“Wrasse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wrasse. Accessed 26 Jul. 2024.

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