JISUPOSTEnglish
ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Catfish

/ˈkætfɪʃ/ · noun

Meaning

Any fish of the order Siluriformes, mainly found in fresh water, lacking scales, and having barbels like whiskers around the mouth..

Definitions by Sense

  1. Any fish of the order Siluriformes, mainly found in fresh water, lacking scales, and having barbels like whiskers around the mouth.
  2. The meat of such a fish, popular in the Southern U.S. and Central Europe.
  3. (intransitive) To fish for catfish.
  4. (Internet) Someone who creates a false profile on a social media platform in order to deceive people.
  5. (Internet) Such a false profile.
  6. (Internet, slang, transitive) To create and operate a fake online profile to deceive (someone).

Example Sentences

“You don’t see catfish that big anymore, except in Chernobyl […] Nobody fishes there anymore, so the catfish thrive. They’ve gotten really enormous, some even twelve or thirteen feet long. They’re bottom-feeders, and apparently the mud still contains a lot of radioactive particles, but the catfish don’t seem to mind.”
I only use this rod for catfishing.
Real people in a picture that was used by a catfish to create a fake identity could have a claim because their likeness was used without permission, Shear said.
Many online dating users create profiles on these online dating platforms looking for potential partners. However, they might end up meeting with users who have bad intentions, potential catfish. These catfish have begun pushing away potential, innocent users and possibly hindering the success of these online dating platforms.
Getting catfished is when someone falls for a person online who is not necessarily real. It can involve pictures, phone calls, social media profiles, text messages, e-mails and even phony friends or family members.
[to Abed] You made a profile for a fake dude and lured her into an online relationship. [to Annie] He's catfishing you.

Synonyms for catfish

catletsheatsheatfishriver chickencatfishermudcatwolffishwolf fishsiluriform fish

Antonyms for catfish

Related Words

wolffishmudcatsiluriform fishwolf fishflatheadfishrivièreriverchannellaughinglaughsiluridsiluriformelectric catfishkillifishscalefishwels catfishlutefishfallfishsiluroid

Word Forms

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

Practice and Learn More

Add this word and synonyms to Word SearchSynonyms and antonymsBetter words by context

Frequently Asked Questions

What does catfish mean?

Catfish means Any fish of the order Siluriformes, mainly found in fresh water, lacking scales, and having barbels like whiskers around the mouth..

What is a synonym for catfish?

Common synonyms include catlet, sheat, sheatfish, river chicken.

What is the opposite of catfish?

The opposite depends on the specific sense.

How do you use catfish in a sentence?

“You don’t see catfish that big anymore, except in Chernobyl […] Nobody fishes there anymore, so the catfish thrive. They’ve gotten really enormous, some even twelve or thirteen feet long. They’re bottom-feeders, and apparently the mud still contains a lot of radioactive particles, but the catfish don’t seem to mind.”

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.