Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

blackfish

/ˈblakfɪʃ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.59 in modern English

Syllables: black-fish
IPA: /ˈblakfɪʃ/

23

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, especially a female after spawning.

noun

Any of various dark-colored fish of the Old World, especially the rudderfish (Centrolophus niger).

noun

Any of various dark-colored toothed whales.

noun

Any of various dark-colored toothed whales.

noun

Either of two dark-colored fish of the west Atlantic, the tautog of New England (Tautoga onitis) and the black sea bass (Centropristis striata).

Canadian usage; American usage

noun

Any of various dark-colored fishes of Australasia, especially the luderick (Girella tricuspidata), and a freshwater fish, Gadopsis marmoratus.

Australian usage; New Zealand usage

verb

To go fishing for blackfish.

verb

To adopt signifiers of black identity (for example, by darkening the skin, or wearing traditionally black hairstyles).

Derogatory

Example Sentences

"The members of this genus, known as ‘Ca’ing Whales,’ ‘Pilot Whales,’ and ‘Blackfish,’ are found in all seas and grow to a considerable size."
"Others, like Globicephala (pothead, blackfish, pilot whale), have distinct forms separated by apparent marine barriers which we cannot detect, except to a degree by the distribution of the animals."
"A large skeleton of the blackfish (Orca sp.) has been prepared, articulated and mounted by the Curator, Mr. Roblin, and is a great acquisition to the Museum."
"The poem evidently describes a day's fishing—the going out early in the morning, the rising tide, the sounds of early morning, the hooking of a blackfish (orca), and a sea bass, judging by some of the lines."
"The creek was reputed to contain blackfish and Nathan […] arranged the extraordinary collection of American lures he had inherited from an uncle."
"Earlier (Caldwell and Caldwell 1971a), we concentrated on the blackfishing at St. Vincent, the fishery with which we were most familiar, and listed known localities of fishing for blackfish and other species in the southern Caribbean."

Etymology

From black + fish.

Regional Pronunciation

British English: /ˈblakfɪʃ/

Usage

Inflected Forms

blackfishes (plural) blackfishes (present, singular) blackfishing (participle, present) blackfished (participle, past) blackfished (past)

Phrases

Alaska blackfish

Frequently Paired Words

blaccent blackface catfish wokefish

Synonyms

pilot whale black whale common blackfish globicephala melaena tautog tautoga onitis

Questions

How do you pronounce blackfish?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈblakfɪʃ/.
What does blackfish mean?: An Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, especially a female after spawning.
Where does blackfish come from?: From black + fish.

How to pronounce blackfish

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “blackfish”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈblakfɪʃ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “blackfish”.
Repeat and practice — Say “blackfish” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.