parrotfish

noun

par·​rot·​fish ˈper-ət-ˌfish 

ˈpa-rət-

variants or parrot fish

: any of a family (Scaridae) of usually brightly colored chiefly tropical marine fishes that have the teeth in each jaw fused into a cutting plate resembling a beak

Examples of parrotfish in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Speaking of dolphins, they’re also frequently joined by other Florida Keys aquatic life like parrotfish, snapper, grunts, and eagle rays. —Cameron Sperance, Travel + Leisure, 24 Feb. 2025

Highlights of the current menu include tuna belly with ponzu, smoked fish broth, and parrotfish, fennel and miso. —Joanne Shurvell, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2025

There's beach access, but Red Reef also has six artificial reefs for snorkeling that attract parrotfish, spottail pinfish, and molly millers. —Carrie Honaker, Travel + Leisure, 11 Feb. 2025

Her delicate yet vivid watercolors of marine life—tarpon, parrotfish, turtles, pelicans, herons—capture the essence of the Keys. —Charlene Fang, AFAR Media, 14 Jan. 2025

And to sleep, some parrotfish engulf themselves in a mucus cocoon. —Vox Staff, Vox, 5 Nov. 2024

Some of the world’s beaches are largely made of parrotfish poop. —Benji Jones, Vox, 8 Oct. 2024

Coral reefs face a similar fate: parrotfish, which play a crucial role in controlling algae growth, have seen their populations plummet on the Mesoamerican Reef due to overfishing. —Rebecca Shaw, TIME, 9 Oct. 2024

Against these mounting threats, parrotfish can do very little. —Benji Jones, Vox, 8 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1712, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for parrotfish

• cuttlefish
• jellyfish
• sablefish
• bluefish
• catfish
• codfish
• crawfish
• dogfish
• finfish
• flatfish
• goldfish
• groundfish

Kids Definition

parrot fish

noun

: any of various sea fishes that are related to the perches and have the teeth united into a cutting plate resembling a beak