Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

shellfish

/ˈʃɛl.fɪʃ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.15 in modern English

Syllables: shell-fish
IPA: /ˈʃɛl.fɪʃ/

18

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A fisheries and colloquial term for an aquatic invertebrate having an inner or outer shell, such as a mollusc or crustacean, especially when edible.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A culinary and nutritional term for several groups of non-piscine, non-tetrapod, aquatic animals that are used as a food source. The term often exclusively refers to edible aquatic crustaceans, bivalve mollusks and cephalopod mollusks; but sometimes echinoderms may be included as well.

Countable; Uncountable

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English schellefyssch, from Old English sċielfisċ. Equivalent to shell + fish.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: schellefyssch, sċielfisċ

Usage

Inflected Forms

shellfishes (plural)

Derived Forms

shellfisher shellfishery shellfishing

Frequently Paired Words

cartilaginous fish finned fish finfish fish

Synonyms

mollusk mollusc

Questions

How do you pronounce shellfish?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈʃɛl.fɪʃ/.
What does shellfish mean?: A fisheries and colloquial term for an aquatic invertebrate having an inner or outer shell, such as a mollusc or crustacean, especially when edible.
Where does shellfish come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce shellfish

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