spearfish

noun, verb — 5 senses

spearfish

noun

Etymology From spear + fish.

1

Any of the genus Tetrapturus of marlins, a type of fish with the upper jaw elongated into a spearlike bill.

2

Any striped marlin (Kajikia audax)

3

Any quillback (Carpioides cyprinus

Derived terms: Atlantic longbill spearfish, Japanese spearfish, longbill spearfish, Mediterranean shortbill spearfish, Mediterranean spearfish, roundscale spearfish, shortbill spearfish, slender spearfish, spearfish remora, spearfishsucker

spearfish

verb

Etymology From spear + fish.

1

To attempt to catch a fish using a spear or spear gun.

Bart, who incidentally has designed an excellent diaphragm‐type call for geese and turkeys, once spearfished commercially in the British West Indies.1979 February 7, “Outdoors: Northeast Spearfishing”, in The New York Times:
A Bajau diver spearfishes in Sulawesi.2018 April 19, Carl Zimmer, “Bodies Remodeled for a Life at Sea”, in The New York Times:

1 more example

He always said freediving was the best way to spearfish because it required enormous patience and concentration, without the benefit of a scuba tank, to hold one’s position until the right prey came along.2020 July 14, Tom Mashberg, “Jay Riffe, Spearfishing King, Is Dead at 82”, in The New York Times:

2

To fish for spearfish by any method.

Related terms: spearfishing

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.